A Serene Selection
by The Pocketwatch Ripper
Summary: Male Syoc with Fantasy Elements: Princess Serenity is forced into having a Selection at a time where the people of Illea are starting to dislike the royal family. It is up to Serenity to prove to the people of Illea that her family aren't evil while also having to juggle 35 handsome young men all vying for her attention (Male SYOC CLOSED)
1. Serenity

A/N: The years are long, but it's good to write fanfiction again. Here I am with a SYOC for The Selection, but because I always have to add something, I added fantasy elements.

* * *

Serenity smiled as she looked at her finished painting, a beautiful mix of vibrant colors creating a picture of the gardens outside her windows. She stepped away and took off her smock, going to wash her hand in a bucket of water she had brought with her. Her mind drifted so much that she flinched when she heard to door open. She turned to see one of the older maids stand by the door.

"Princess Serenity, King Georgios has requested your presence." She spoke in a calm, monotone voice. Serenity nodded.

"I'll go right now, Mrs. Crow" Serenity responded, drying her hands and taking one last look at her painting before leaving her art room. Mrs. Crow followed her down the cool hallways.

Serenity walked in an awkward silence, the only sound were Mrs. Crow heels clicking across the tiled floor. She wondered what her father wanted, he rarely called her for anything other than scolding for sneaking out of the palace. Serenity scratched at a drop of green paint that had stained a strand of her brown hair. She hardly noticed that she had reached her father's office until Mrs. Crow has opened the large door, the loud squeaking making her look up. She smoothed her dress before entering.

King Georgios Schreave's office was large and round, the floor was covered by a large burgundy rug. The walls were painted with vertical stripes of ivory and stripes. Family pictures were hung everywhere although instead of being set up in some timeframe they were disorganized a picture of a young King Georgios next to a picture of the older King holding his youngest daughter, Justine with his other daughters Ophelia and Serenity peeking from the background. Two brownish-red leather seats sat in front of a large mahogany desk, adorned with a small lamp, several letters and a few cracked picture frames.

Sitting at his desk with his hands folded was King Georgios, ruler of all of Illea. His long brown hair, fell in light curls around his fair face, warm brown eyes following his daughter. Next to him stood Queen Aspen, the elven queen and Serenity's mother. Her platinum hair was pulled up into a tight bun, showing her pale face and long, pointed ears, double the size of Serenity's ears, her aqua colored eyes looking at the papers on her husband's desk.

"Serenity, please have a seat." King Georgios said, leaning back in his chair.

"It was Justine, I swear." Serenity joked as she sat down. Queen Aspen chuckled then straightened her face. Georgios sighed and rolled his eyes at his daughter.

"We're not here to talk about whatever your siblings did. We're here to talk about you, your twenty years old now Serenity, and your mother and I decided that it's time for you to meet your future spouse." King Georgios said, pausing to let his daughter react. Serenity stuck her tongue in her cheek and then sat up.

"Is it an arranged marriage? I don't want to marry some random prince from another country." Serenity said crossing her arms. Georgios shook his head and clear his throat.

"It isn't a foreign prince, it will be a tournament. You'll have 35 men all competing for your hand. Won't that be exciting?" Georgios said. Serenity grimaced, went silent for a few moments then sighed and began to speak.

"A tournament huh? I... Father you can't serious expect me to pick a husband by having Rastus, Captain Pearce and you test the guys, then have me pick whether they are good or not for me."

"That's how I met your mother." Georgios said turning to Aspen, looking to her for support. The queen remained silent, merely observing.

"Yeah, and you got lucky, dad. What if I'm not? What if I'm stuck with some jerk who'll treat me like dirt?" Serenity crossed her arms. Silence filled the room as neither father nor daughter spoke. Queen Aspen suddenly spoke.

"What about a Selection? There isn't any law stating that it is illegal." Georgios and Serenity looked to the queen.

"We haven't had a Selection in ages, Aspen." King Georgios said, Aspen nodded.

"While that is true, dear. We can't just keep having tournaments. The people are starting to grow irate at them. People are still arguing over the possibility of racism in yours. Perhaps it's for the best, or better yet we let Serenity decide." Aspen said. Georgios reluctantly agreed and turned to his daughter.

"Can I just choose not to have one?" Serenity asked, both her parent shook their heads in sync. The odd synchronization of their head movements unnerved Serenity. She knew she didn't have a say in the matter. She had to pick the lesser of two evils. A tournament would be quick but it would leave her with someone who got lucky. A selection would give her time to know someone. She looked at her parents.

"I'll go with a Selection. I'd prefer to get to know my future husband instead of leaving it up to chance." Serenity said. Aspen smiled and clapped her hands.

"Perfect! We'll announce it on the Report and have Rastus send out invitations." Aspen chirped. Serenity sighed and left without another word. Upon opening the door, she bumped into a tall man in armor.

"Oh! Apologies Princess Serenity." He said. Serenity chuckled

"You know you can just call me Serenity, Pearce. You're family." Pearce looked a little embarrassed and ran his fingers through his short, brown hair.

"That's very kind of you, but I know I'm not family." He said, before Georgios coughed loudly to get his attention.

"Oops! I apologize your highness. I wanted to discuss to newest guards..." Captain Pearce spoke entering the office. Serenity rolled her eyes and wonder if Pearce was ever going to let himself be considered family. She figured that she should tell Rastus to start sending out applications. She wondered if she could send Mrs. Crow to speak to him in her place, but figure that the old maid would be far too busy to listen to her. Serenity began to head to the mage's workshop.

Serenity had no idea why the workshop was on the opposite side of the palace. It wasn't like Rastus was dangerous. The only strange thing about him was that he insisted that he came from another world. The door to the workshop contrasted against the white walls that surrounded it. It was made from thick planks of dark wood held together with metal bars. A heavy knocker rested in the middle and the handle was unusually ornate. Serenity entered without bothering to knock. The workshop was a large square room. Colored in swirling shades of navy blue and forest green. Metal tables lined the walls some organized neatly others disorganized with bottle of various bubbling liquids. On the few shelves above rested thick, dusty books and several different kinds of tomes. In the middle of the room was a large cauldron. Serenity had never seen it empty, this time it was filled with water. She saw the mage leaning on a counter next to a small pot on a flame, holding a wooden spoon and flipping through a book.

"Making more potions, Rastus?" she asked, the wizard turned around.

"I'm making soup. I have to eat too Serenity" He said turning back to his soup, adding a few spices and stirring it. He tasted it, added more salt then spoke again.

"Anyways do you have business here, Serenity. You don't come here often." He asked setting the spoon aside.

"I do in fact. You see I'm going to have a selection and-"

"I can't send you to where I came. If I knew I'd go back myself" Rastus interrupted, leaning on the counter.

"No that isn't what I want. I came to ask you to send out the applications. I want to get this over with quickly, and sending out applications the old fashion way takes forever."

"With the magic and science we have you'd think that we'd have used these quicker ways to send out applications but no, tradition and what not." Rastus replied as he snuffed the flame under his pot. He went over to one of the many tables and shifted through the mess of papers, taking an official looking sheet. The mage then went around his workshop collecting what seemed like random items. What did a dragon fang have to do with sending out applications?

The dark-haired mage pulled a small rolling cart with his foot and placed all the objects on the cart. He tapped his foot against the bottom of the cauldron and muttered

" _Incendio."_ A fire lit and roared under the cauldron. He looked through his bottles and tossed a few in, cork and all.

"Want me to rig it? So more of one race get it?" Rastus asked looking at a bottle that had a swirling orange liquid.

"No. I want it to be fair. We are already being criticized for favoring Elves, I don't need the news saying that I favored one race over the others." Rastus shrugged at the princess request and tossed the orange bottle away, instead of shattering on the floor, it bounced off the floor and rolled under a table.

"Do you think any Merfolk will join?" Serenity asked as the mage, added more odd things to his cauldron.

"Maybe. But they hardly come up to the surface. I don't think your father wants any Shape of Water shenanigans though." Rastus say as he drops the dragon fang and a bottle of ink. Whatever was in the cauldron suddenly started to bubble then stop, glowing a pale green. Rastus grabbed a pen off the cart and tossed the pen in the pot. It disappeared as soon as it hit the liquid. Rastus smiled and picked up the official looking paper.

" _Duplico"_ he said, turning the paper into a stack and dropping it into the cauldron. He turned to Serenity who just stared, confused and a little amazed.

"It's done, Rastus Amar has done his job" He said with a content look on his face. The mage went back to his soup as if nothing had ever happened. Serenity stared for another few seconds then left. She wasn't entirely sure what happened or what Rastus did. His kind of magecraft was... odd to say the least. He could do it without his staff and so effortlessly. Serenity struggled to even be able to cast a levitation spell.

Serenity figured that she would tell her sisters. Justine would be in the library and Ophelia would probably be in the gardens with Quinn. She was already near the library so she decided to head there.

Serenity entered the library and looks around at the maze of shelves, filled with various books on different subjects. Serenity was certain that nobody except her little sister read these books.

"Justine? You in here?" Serenity called out. The soft rustle of a few books was heard before a soft voice called back.

"I'm by the desks in the back, Serenity." Serenity began to walk to the back of the library. She had never realized how large and organized the library was. It felt as if she was walking through an endless maze of books. The dim lighting didn't help, eventually serenity reached the desks. Where a short girl sat at a desk, reading. The girl put her book down, sticking a metallic bookmark in it.

"Here to tell me about your Selection?" Justine said, leaning back in her chair. Serenity looked surprised.

"How did you know?" Serenity said. Justine sat up and undid her bun letting her blonde hair fall.

"Mrs. Crow told me. Chances are I knew before you did. I'll tell you now Serenity, be careful." Justine said her face suddenly turning serious.

"What do you mean?" Serenity asked, she was never certain what her straight-laced, serious sister talked about.

"You aren't playing games, Serenity. In a week or so 35 men will be in the palace vying for your hand. Be careful not to play with their heartstrings too hard."

"I'm not quite sure I follow, Justine."

"Serenity, think of our image. We are not loved by the people of Illea, for Father's tournament. Your Selection is a chance to somewhat restore our image. Only if you can play your cards right." Justine said, staring at the books scattered on the desk. Her fingers tracing over several horror books.

"If you crush the hearts of those men underneath a heel. You'll only cause more strife, be smart. If you are going to let them go, then let them go. These are real people and you can't afford to play around." Justine looked at Serenity before speaking up again.

"I'll help you out... I'm not very social but I know how to conduct secretive research and whoever join. I will know about them and what they like. Come to me if you want some help, but don't rely too much on me, Serenity. If something were to happen, I don't want to be caught in the crossfire." Justine then stood up.

"I think I've read enough for today." Justine said, beginning to walk towards the exit. Serenity followed her out of the library. Justine then quickly disappeared before Serenity could properly thanks her for the unwanted but useful advice. Serenity was going to head to the garden to meet her sister when she was suddenly hugged from behind.

"There's my favorite niece!" A woman said as she hugged Serenity from behind. Serenity broke away from the woman's grasp and smiled at who it was.

"Auntie Delilah! You're back!" Serenity said, a smiling creeping on her face as she hugged her aunt tightly.

"Yes, I'm back sweetheart and I'm going to be here for a while. Traveling too much isn't good for my health." Delilah said cupping her pale face.

"Auntie, I'm having a selection." Serenity happily said, her aunt's face quickly changed to one of a glee.

'That's great, baby. Ooh you're growing up so fast!" Delilah said, her watch beeped and she had to excuse herself. Serenity smiled at her aunt, she was a nice woman. She seemed so normal and always brought Serenity gifts from her travels. Serenity then made her way to the gardens where her sister Ophelia and brother, Quinn was.

"All I'm saying is that is isn't my fault she fainted!" Quinn said with a sip of his lemonade looking over at his sister.

"Quinn, you put a fake spider on her shoulder. A realistic looking one." Ophelia said.

"Eh I still blame her." Quinn said, unaware the Serenity was right behind her.

"Well you better not put that kind of stunt during the Selection." Serenity said, crossing her arms. Quinn didn't even bother to look at his sister.

"You're having a Selection?" Ophelia questioned looking up at her sister.

"Not a tournament?" Quinn asked, drinking down the rest of his lemonade.

"Yep, I convinced Mom and Dad to let me have on instead of a tournament." Serenity said.

"Great, a bunch of sweaty guys are gonna be here all hounding us for your favorite teacup or something." Quinn said, grumbling.

"You're just mad that we're going to have to keep you on a tight leash so you won't kill a vampire with food seasonings" Ophelia teased. Quinn turned his head.

"Are vampires even allergic to garlic?" Serenity asked.

"Maybe they don't want bad breath. But a Selection, huh. Thirty-five hunky men all coming here, huh. Must be nice." she said.

"Kinda sorta. I'm nervous but just hope that they aren't jerks." Serenity said.

"Please, they're probably all going to be testosterone poisoned." Quinn quipped.

"If you don't shut up, we're going to tie you and leave you in the dungeon." Ophelia said, Quinn rolled his eyes and left.

"For the youngest, he sure is bratty..." Serenity said

"Leave him. Anyways Serenity I hope everything goes well. I hope you don't mind if I steal some guys from you." Ophelia said with a wink. Serenity shook her head.

"You can have them all if I don't like them." Serenity said, she was already starting to warm up to the idea. As she continued to speak with Ohpelia, Justine's words bounced in her head, she hoped that she wouldn't damage their family's reputation more than it already was.

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A/N: and that's it. My introductory chapter to an SYOC with fantasy elements. On my profile is the form, alongside any information you need to know. You can reserve a spot and province and have until the end of February to submit your character. I will say one thing I need more Dwarves and Humans. Regardless I look forward to your submissions.


	2. The Report

A/N: I've never been good at writing these things.

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Serenity knocked at Rastus door, the knocker sound louder every time she used it.

"Enter!" The mage called out, Serenity turned the door and stepped in. Rastus was staring at a picture, his thumb ran over a part. He was facing away from her but Serenity could feel the feeling of longing in him. He folded the picture and slipped in his pocket.

"Can I help you, Princess?" Rastus said turning around and grabbing his staff, a long piece of world carved with interesting design and runes. He then looked at the princess with a smile on his face.

"I was wonder if you could make a potion for me? A calming potion." She said. Rastus turned to her and picked up a bottle with a thick, pale blue liquid in it. He walked over to table with a mortar and pestle and various plants and seeds. He took a few seeds and leaves of plant into the mortar and began to crush and grind them up into a paste. He took a teaspoon and added it to the bottle. Making the thick liquid bubble turn bright blue then back to its pale blue color. Rastus swirled it and handed it to Serenity.

"There you go, one calming potion. Should keep you calm for a good 3-4 hours." Serenity looked at it, and hugged Rastus tightly. Rastus wiggled out of her bear hug for a princess, she was strong.

"Drink it a half hour before The Report." Rastus said coolly as he took the mortar and pestle to the sink, washed it, then took it over to another table. Beginning to cut open an avocado. Serenity looked at the potion with concern and carefully asked why.

"Because if you drink it right before you'll say everything in a complete deadpan voice. You'll basically be that girl from that sparkly vampire movie. No emotion and while I would love to see that I wouldn't like the entirety of Illea thinking that you are uninterested in a selection." The mage said as, he picked up a fresh onion and began chopping it up. Serenity looked at the potion again, she was beginning to doubt Rastus, maybe she could paint the garden and achieve the same effect? Or she would end up spilling green paint everywhere again. Serenity left the mage who began dicing a tomato.

* * *

Serenity was sitting in her dressing room at the studio. Her heart was beating out of her chest and her throat felt tight, all eyes were going to be on her tonight. She had to announce her Selection and pray that there weren't any questions about restrictions on it. Serenity popped open to cork on the potion and drank the thick liquid down. It felt like she was chugging down yogurt but she felt the effects near immediately. Everything slowed and she felt her worries melt away. She felt at peace, she looked into the mirror, her face turn to one of complete apathy, no emotion at all. She leaned back in her chair, it was at least forty five minutes until The Report, she had time to sketch. She looked around, picking up a blank sheet and a pencil. Maybe she would do a self-portrait.

* * *

"Good Evening, Illea!" Lynette Marina, the Report host yelled, echoing throughout the studio. Lynette was an opera singer before becoming the host for the Report. She was already popular before becoming the host and her popularity only skyrocketed when she became host. Some of her popularity stemmed from her not wearing fancy dresses and option for casual but stylish clothing. This time she was wearing flats, black leggings, a navy-blue miniskirt, a thick black belt. She had a white blouse one with small red ribbons bows to the buttons. She had a pinstripe jacket on and a white beret.

"Welcome to The Report, where we learn the juiciest secrets of the Illean Royal family and ask the hottest questions. I'm your host, Lynette and today instead of just The Lioness of Illea, Queen Aspen. We have Serenity, Ophelia, Justine and Quinn!" Lynette cheered and the crowd clapped.

"Alright, first up we have a very special announcement from Princess Serenity, herself! Come on out Princess!" Serenity walked out, dressing a flowing ivory dress, adorned with jewels. Serenity's necklace was heavy and covered in several gems. She smiled at the crowd and hugged Lynette.

"So, tell us Princess, what is this news? Spill the beans... or as you kids say spill the tea." Lynette said, the crowd laughed. Serenity chuckled and turned.

"Well it isn't any news that I am now twenty. I was supposed to have a tournament soon. I know the tournament had mixed opinions but..." Lynette looked at Serenity with interest.

"But? C'mon Serenity don't keep us waiting!" Lynette chirped. Serenity took a deep breath.

"I've decided not to have a tournament. I will have a Selection instead. A breath of fresh air, right?" Serenity said. Lynette smiled.

"Is that so, princess? A Selection, wow folks we haven't had one of those in a while! It will surely be something new! Anything else to add, Princess?" Lynette asked leaning forward. Serenity nodded

"With the exception of the age restrictions. I encourage everyone to apply. I wanted to meet people from all walks of lives and all kinds, Humans, Dwarves, Lycans, Vampires and everything in between. Applications have already been sent out!" Serenity said. Lynette put an arm around Serenity shoulder.

"You heard it right here folks, our beloved princess is holding a Selection! Thirty-five lucky young men will have a chance to live in the lap of luxury and meet the royals!" Lynette sang and let go of Serenity. Serenity curtsied and quietly excused herself. Now let's see what Serenity's sister have to say about it. Illea say hello to Ophelia!"

The crowd cheered as Ophelia stepped out onto the stage, dresses in a layered blue dress. A beautiful sapphire and pearl necklace adorned her neck.

"Justine!" The crowd clapped as Justine came out, dressed in a black dress, with puffy sleeves. A high collar and black gloves. She looked like she was going to funeral instead of a show.

"and Prince Quinn!" The crowd clapped as Quinn came out, his hands jammed in his pockets, wearing a black suit.

"Princess Ophelia! Good to see you again. How are you doing?" Lynette said as she and Ophelia air kissed each other's cheek. Lynette shook Justine's hand and patted Quinn on the back.

"I'm doing great, Lynette. You look as stylish as ever." Ophelia said taking a seat. Lynette grinned

"I try, now tell me did you know about The Selection?" Lynette asked, taking a seat next to Ophelia.

"I kind of did, Serenity told me about it. She didn't give me any details though. It must be nice though have a bunch of handsome men trying to romance you." Ophelia said placing her hands on her lap.

"Oh, but surely some selected will interest you?" Lynette said, Ophelia nodded.

"Yeah, I guess but only if Serenity doesn't want them, call it me wanting the scraps but I just don't want to get kicked out for oogling a lycan she might like." Lynette laughed and moved on.

"How about you Justine? Quinn?" Lynette asked, Justine took a seat, followed by Quinn.

"I had no idea, actually. I do admit that I'll try to help Serenity with planning. It'll be fun time tabling everything. Aside from that I have no interest in her suitors. My books are far better companions than an elf or a Kitsune." Justine said with a small smile.

"Personally, I'm only gonna stick around to see who can take a joke. Otherwise I would have asked dad for a one-way ticket to Waverly." Quinn said placing his hands behind his head. Lynette groaned at the prince's response.

"Well! Let wish Serenity and her siblings the best of luck!" Lynette said, Ophelia got up and left, with Justine and Quinn following her.

"and now for our last guest, officially her name is Aspen but we all like to call her by her nickname. Ladies and Gentleman give it up for The Lioness!" Lynette sound, the crowd erupted in cheer as Queen Aspen walked on stage, wearing a layered white and cream dress, resembling an inverted flower. An ice blue, fur lined cape rest on her shoulders. A sword in an ornate sheath was on her waist.

"Lioness! Pleasure to see you again." Lynette said standing up and bowing to the queen. Aspen laughed.

"Oh, no need to be so formal with me Lynette, it's a pleasure to see you too and to the people of Illea too." She said turning to the crowd. She took a seat

"So, Lioness tell us. What do you think of your daughter finally having a Selection?" Lynette said sitting down next to Aspen.

"I think it's wonderful that my daughter is finally going to have a husband, perhaps my other daughters might find a man too. Although I might be jinxing it. " Aspen said.

"Will you help your daughters? Or would you be passive?" Lynette asked leaning forward in her seat. Aspen then drew her sword and placing it down in front of her.

"Any man that wants to marry my daughter will have to go through me and duel me. Only then will they be able to marry my daughter." Aspen said, seriousness filling her face. Lynette's face looked partially frightened.

"Hear that Illea? A chance to duel the Lioness! The woman who beat 35 other ladies for Georgios hand!" Aspen laughed.

"Oh Lynette, I was joking I don't want my daughter to be alone forever, however I won't turn down anyone who wants to challenge me. If they win, I'll give you some advice on my daughters." She said sheathing her sword. Lynette laughed nervously but quickly recovered.

"That's still a challenge so, people of Illea do you think you have what it takes to challenge the Lioness? Lynette then looked at her watch.

"Unfortunately, that's all the time we have. Tune in next time Illea, when we announce the lucky men that get chosen. Haven a good night Illea!" Lynette said blowing a kiss to the camera.

Serenity was quiet the entire ride home, she leaned her head on Ophelia's shoulder as she gently sang.

" _Who do you think are? Running 'round leaving scars. Collecting your jar of hearts and tearing love apart."_ Ophelia gently sang. Serenity felt sleepy, she felt the calmness slip from her. The potion wore off.

" _You're going to catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. So, don't come back for me... don't come back at all..."_ The younger sister sang gently, stroking Serenity's hair idly. Serenity began to drift in and out of sleep.

"My beloved sister, I hope things turn out well for you." Ophelia said, looking down at the sleeping princess.

"She may not realize it, but what she does will ripple across the years." Justine said, peeking up from her book.

"What a pain, that everything rests on her." Quinn quipped

* * *

A/N: Whoa! Wasn't that fun? I have a few submissions already and they turned out great! I hope I get more deadline is the 28th of February so you have a fair amount of time to submit and reserve spots.


	3. Siblings

A/N: Think of this as chapter 2.5 No Serenity in this chapter, she's out shopping for clothes.

* * *

Ophelia watched as Rastus sautéed onions in a pan. Flipping them ocasionally, the second princess hadn't even spoken. The mage turned off the stove and turned.

"Did you want something Ophelia or were you just going to stand there?" The mage said as he flipped on a rice cooker.

"I just wanted a potion." she said

"I already told you I can't make you taller or prettier." Rastus began, being cut off by Ophelia.

"No, not that... I just wanted you to make a calming potion, I have a recital tonight and I'm a little nervous. Rastus rolled his eyes and tossed Ophelia and mint green potion.

"Drink that right before the recital, it's fast acting but fleeting." Rastus said. Ophelia looked at the swishing liquid, it looked like mouthwash. She uncorked it and it smelled like mouthwash.

"Is this mouthwash?" Ophelia asked, Rastus shooked his head.

"Yes, I just put mouthwash in a bottle and gave it to my employer's daughter before a big recital." He said sarcastically.

"Sorry I asked." She said putting the bottle away. She shifted her feet Rastus turned around and tended to his rice cooker.

"What's on your mind, Ophelia? You would have left by now." The mage asked, he would never admit it but he cared for the royals.

"Nothing much, I'm just concerned about the Selection. People have already said that I'm too similar to Serenity. What if the guys just prove that? I'm concerned that I'm just a copy of Serenity." Ophelia said. Rastus didn't turn, he didn't want his rice to burn.

"Ophelia, you are you. Serenity is Serenity, you have similar interests, yes and you're better at painting, she's better at singing. You are more different than you think you are. You've made a job out of your passion. You're studying at the Angeles Province University, granted for fashion but still for something different. Don't let yourself be defined by your older sister, Ophelia." Rastus said as he flipped the rice cooker's switch to keep the rice warm.

"Plus, you're better at Clue." Rastus said.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Ophelia said, out of everyone Ophelia always won board games.

"Just watch, I'm going to beat you in the next murder mystery" The mage said! Ophelia laughed and left. She had to get ready for her recital.

* * *

Justine was reading a book detailing the history of vampires as she sat in her room. The young blonde pushed her glasses up as the slid down her face. Her head only turned up when she heard her door open.

"Oh, Nurse Gummy... here to give me my check-up results?" Justine said, the nurse nodded.

"Yes, and as usual. Everything is well. Including your sisters." She said before leaving. A middle-aged man wearing a burgundy dress shirt, brown slacks, an ugly red and blue polka dotted tie and medical coat came in.

"Dr Armitage... I assume everything is well." Justine said, going back to her book.

"Yes, but you know that's not why I'm here." The doctor said. Justine shifted her eyes to the man then back to her book.

"Serenity is going to forget and Father would just use the family doctor." Justine explained, Dr Armitage nodded slowly.

"I see... just know that I can't be here throughout the Selection." he said. Justine looked up again.

"I'll call when needed. Having 35 different people here, some of who are literally demigods. Our poor Doctor Kay won't be able to handle all that. Especially when she sees that a demigod may have 2 hearts or no heart at all." Justine then shooed away the doctor as she continued to read.

"Fascinating... "She said as she stuck a bookmark where she left off and placed in on her desk. The young princess stretched.

"Reading all this historical stuff is murder on my mind. I think I should take a break." She said turning to her bookshelf. She slid her finger over her book before noticing some books that weren't there previously. She took one of the new books out. It was two hands holding out an apple.

"Is this that trashy... ugh Quinn." She grumbled as she tossed the book on her bed. She went through her collection, taking out every book that Quinn had planted. A book about children fighting to the death for food, A book about a woman who falls in love with a billionaire, some trashy book about a girl entering a competition to win the heart of a prince.

"Why does that sound familiar?" Justine said as she looked at the cover. It was a girl in a blue dress staring at the reader.

"It's probably nothing." she concluded. By the end of it she had 20 books on her bed. She would have to go looking for her missing books but for right now she plucked a book from her shelf at random.

"An Unsuitable Job for a Woman... I don't think I ever finished this" Justine said as she opened the book and began to drift into the world of P.D James.

* * *

Quinn was in the garden playing a harmonica, much to the annoyance of the gardeners. Quinn was mourning that last days of his freedom. Soon he'd be having to share the palace with 35 random men.

"Ugh, sharing a palace with sweaty dwarves, smelly wolves and sparkly vampires is gonna suck." He complained to a servant, Argyle. The young servant merely nodded.

"I mean why can't Pops just buy Serenity an island and ship her there with them. Or better yet why don't they travel the world and Serenity can just give roses to whatever guy she wants to suck face with. Auntie Delilah can host it, make that a TV show." He told Argyle. The servant boy merely poured another glass of pink lemonade.

"At least I can prank them, right? Serenity won't mind if I slip some sludge powder into someone's drink. Simple stuff." Quinn said, leaning back into his chair.

"Or I can just tell them fake stuff about Serenity to get them out quicker. Think I might settle on that." Argyle nodded, agreeing with everything the young prince said.

"With all due respect, Prince Quinn can I go back to doing my duties?" Argyle asked. Quinn said no, King Georgios hadn't given Quinn a personal servant, so the prince made Argyle his servant.

"I'm getting bored of this. Let's go Argyle." Quinn said setting down his harmonica.

"Shall I get the Legos... sir?" Argyle asked. Quinn took a deep breathe.

"I'm not a little kid, Argyle. Stop asking if I want to play with Legos!" Quinn said, storming off into the palace

* * *

A/N: This was originally intended to be a magic lesson... anyways! Good news everyone. You are now allowed to submit two characters! Reserve your spots now and whatever.


	4. Siblings 2

A/N: A bit more fluff before the actual story starts. The Deadline has been expanded to March 8th.

* * *

"Is it that understood?" King Georgios said leaning back in his office chair. His children stood in front of him, silently they all nodded.

"Yes, Daddy" Ophelia replied

"Yes, Father." Justine replied

"Sure, Pops" Quin replied

"I'm serious, you three while the Selected are here you can't bully them. Befriend them if you like, keep them if Serenity eliminates them but you can't bully them. It's already bad enough that I'm still under accusations of racism. I don't want you three to amplify accusations by making it seem like we're all racists." King Georgios said.

"We understand, father. We'll make sure we behave." Justine said. Ophelia nodded in agreement and turned her gaze to Quinn.

"Yeah, and we'll make sure Quinn behaves too; maybe we can give him some more Legos to play with." Ophelia said looking at Quinn, who glowered at her.

"For the last time! I'm not a kid, I'm fifteen!" Quinn said crossing his arms.

"Alright, alright you are dismissed." Georgios said waving them away. Ophelia, Justine and Quinn left, bumping into Mrs. Crow on their way out, who nearly spilled the contents of her tray as she walked in.

"They nearly made me spill the tea." Mrs. Crow said as she walked over and placed the tray on the Georgios desk.

"Also, Delilah is coming to the office as per your request." Mrs Crow said as she poured the king a cup of tea."

"Thank you, Ella." Georgios said. Mrs. Crow nodded and left, looking back at the king. A few minutes later. Delilah entered wearing a small black dress with a large black ribbon tied to the back.

"You called, baby brother?" She said with a gentle smile. King Georgios nodded and gestured to a chair.

"Yes, have a seat." He said. Delilah rolled her eyes, she walked over and sat down, pouring herself a cup of tea.

"So, what did you want to talk about Georgie?" Delilah asked as she added 4 sugar cubes to her tea, mixing it with a tiny spoon. Georgios sipped his tea and squinted at her.

"I just wanted to go over some ground rules when the Selection happens" Georgios explained, placing his teacup down.

"Don't bully the Selected, don't seduce them, don't sabotage or try to sway Serenity's favor. Same basic rules as your Tournament." Delilah said as she picked up a small slice of sponge cake, taking a bite out of it, wiping crumbs away from her mouth with her thumb.

"And no belittling the Selected either, I don't care if someone is a vampire, a child of Loki or a dark mage. I don't want anyone, even you belittling a potential son-in-law." Delilah rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you say, Georgie. Is that everything? I'm going out to Beverly Hills to shop for a new outfit for The Report?"

"We're not done here ,Delilah." He said. Delilah eyed him carefully and sat down. Georgios placed his teacup back on the silver tray and took a slice of strawberry cake.

"Why are you _really_ here?" He asked, Delilah tilted her head and smiled softly

"What ever do you mean, Georgie?" She asked. Georgios,leaned forward, he placed his hands on the table and stared at Delilah's eyes.

"You haven't visited us in 2 years, Delilah. You're always on some exotic locale. Just last week you rubbing elbows with some Oceanic Prince." Delilah gave an airy laugh, covering her mouth.

"I had a check up when I arrived. Doctor Kay did tell me that too much traveling is bad for my health and that I should take it easy for a while. She may bumble a lot but Doctor Kay knows what she is talking about. Also I get to witness something I never had" Delilah said looking down at her lap, her smile fading.

"Serenity's Selection, I know that you never got that and I'm sorry... but remember this is Serenity's Selection, not yours. I'll let you stay in the palace but don't try to choose Serenity's Prince Consort for her. I can't change what happened but I hope all I've done helps" Delilah nodded silently and stood

"I understand, brother." Georgios then dismissed her. A small smile formed on Delilah's lips as she left.

"Still as uptight as ever, George."

* * *

Rastus waved his wand like a stick to nine staff members in the garden. He had them dressed in red and white uniforms.

"Once more ladies, and Argyle." He said, raising his wand sending a fireball into the air. The ball fizzling out as it flew.

"I don't mind that Master Quinn made me join this little chorus but did I really have to wear a skirt?" Argyle said as he kept trying to yank the miniskirt down to cover his pale legs. Quinn and Ophelia snickered, Justine sighed as she turned her page. Serenity looked at Argyle with an apologetic face, she could easily command Argyle to go back to his duties but she didn't want to.

"It wasn't my idea." Quinn said with an unapologetic shrug.

"It was mine." Ophelia said with a giggle. Argyle sighed and gripped his skirt, trying fruitless to cover himself.

"You two are hideous and therefore morally reprehensible." Justine quipped as she looked up from her book. She couldn't find her copy of Le Morte D'Arthur, she decided to give the trashy book Quinn left her a try. The girl in the blue dress was cute enough and the premise sounded oddly familiar.

"Who names their kid, Britannia?" Justine mumbled as she read. Rastus coughed loudly as he signaled the beginning of the song. Serenity, Justine and Quinn listened as the young women and Argyle sang.

" _It's Monday! What do you see? My hair's styled differently._ " Breanna, the kitchen maid began.

" _You're not so busy so come on! Look at me!"_ Lenore, Mrs Crow's granddaughter and Justine's personal attendant continued.

" _I've done some trimming~ Three inches cut off of my skirt, you see?"_ Argyle sang awkwardly as he held down his skirt.

" _I just wanna make you blush and go crazy~ Isn't my wish so girly?"_ Florence, Ophelia's personal attendant sang, cupping her face, pretending to look flushed.

Rastus continued waving his wand around like a conductor as Serenity and her siblings continued listen but soon losing themselves in conversation.

"...and they were roommates." Ophelia told Serenity.

"Oh my god they were roommates" Quinn interjected. Ophelia smacked Quinn's head without even looking at him.

"Wouldn't it be weird to room with your ex?" Serenity asked.

"Wouldn't it be weird to have some thirty plus strangers in your house for the sole purpose of winning your heart?" Ophelia retorted, Serenity frowned but then nodded her head.

"Let's just hope that I don't get any weirdos" Serenity said.

"Chances are that Ophelia, Justine and Captain Pearce is going to walk away with someone and you're going to wind up with thirty cats." Quinn said snickering. Serenity glared at him and smacked him upside the head. Quinn winced in pain as he cupped his chin.

"That hurt!" He yelled

"I'm sorry, I thought it was supposed to tickle." Serenity said sarcastically. Quinn huffed and turned his face. He snapped his fingers causing Argyle to run over.

"Argyle, get me something to drink." Quinn said rubbing his chin.

"Wouldn't I love to have siblings like that." Rastus said as he ended the song. He looked down for a moment then turned towards the palace and the open window of his workshop, where a age flew out of the window and into his hand, the young mage scanned the page.

"Serenity... all applications have been filled and sent." He said

* * *

A/N: Deadline's tomorrow, but if you reserve a character now you have 'til the 12th to submit!


	5. Selecting the Selected

A/N: I had this mostly complete for a while.

* * *

"I wanna be a cowboy, baby." Ophelia said as Rastus shook a tiny vial. The Report was in less than an hour and Rastus had to rush to the studio as Ophelia had downed one of Rastus' potions instead of taking a sip as he instructed.

"Here drink this." Rastus said, Ophelia took the potion, squinted at it and downed it. The princess shivered and looked around.

"Is the Report over?" Ophelia asked.

"It's just about to start." Justine said, sitting at a table. She was playing a game of checkers with Quinn.

"Knight to K4, check." Quinn said as he moved his piece.

"Quinn, this is checkers." Justine said, Quinn huffed and stood up and left. Justine sighed and leaned back.

"Alright everyone the Report is about to begin." Lynette said, adjusting the fashion glasses she was wearing. The woman headed on stage.

"Where is Serenity?" Rastus asked as tossed the vial in the trash and made sure Ophelia wasn't spouting nonsense anymore.

"She's with Captain Pearce, she was concerned when she didn't get the list of the Selected. Speak of the devil, here she is." Justine said as Serenity walked in a concerned look on her face.

"Pearce, doesn't want to tell me anything either." Serenity said, the young princess looked slightly concerned. If Pearce didn't know then only Georgios would know and Georgios was back at the Palace, too occupied with ensuring that the palace would be secure for it. There were no more rebels in Illea, not since the caste system was abolished but that didn't stop some idiot from trying to assassinate someone in the palace.

"We're live!" Someone from across the studio shouted. Serenity and her siblings stood up and stood to the side of the stage, to watch and wait for their cue.

"Good Evening, Illea! How are you all doing tonight?" Lynette yelled as she walked to the center stage. The back dropped decorated with gaudy golden hearts and crown. A large screen, showing the Illean map right above her.

"Welcome to the Report! This is where we find out all the juiciest secrets of the Illean Royal Family and ask the hottest question and this is a very special report. Where we find out which bachelors will be joining us and competing for the heart of our beloved Serenity! Are you folks ready?" The crowd cheered and Lynette smiled as she took her seat.

"Now then, let get right into it. Every say hello to our beloved royal princesses and prince. Serenity, Ophelia, Justine and Quinn!" Lynette cheered as Serenity walked out waving, Ophelia blowing a kiss, Jusine smiling warmly and nodding her head and Quinn, eyeing the crowd walking with his hands behind his head. All four of them sat down on a cream-colored sofa.

"So, to recap just a few weeks ago Serenity announced her choice to have a Selection, which created a lot of buzz and talks. I'm sure we've heard it all so we probably want to get started on this so. How about we get started with the Selected." Lynette said, a brief flash of panic showed on Serenity's face she didn't know who her Selected were.

"Or how about we pick them out right now! That's right folks we've decided to shake things up a little and pick out the Selected live! Isn't that exciting? Not only that but having Serenity herself pick her Selected would be long and monotonous so we're having some help from her siblings." Serenity looked absolutely shocked. Her siblings looked away with mischievous smiles. Serenity couldn't really do anything since the recording was live and she didn't want to make herself look like a fool.

"Alright Serenity since it's your Selection we'll let you pick the first province." Lynette said standing up, pulling Serenity to her feet. The Princess was dumbfounded, stilling processing the fact that her siblings were going to pick her suitors.

"I... um... l-let's start with Angeles." Serenity said. Lynette laughed and said something about her home province and clap. A young redheaded guard came with a large fishbowl, filled to the brim with small slips of paper, each neatly folded in half. Serenity stared at the bowl and pulled a name from the very top of the bowl. She opened it and cleared her voice.

"Who's our lucky man from Angeles." Lynette said as she leaned down to see the slip of paper. Serenity looked up.

"F-From Angeles, Hasani Leonardo Adair, an Egyptian Demigod." Serenity announced. The screen above her stopped displaying the map of Illea and shifted through several portraits of various men and a woman before settling on a picture of a man that Serenity assumed was Hasani. He looked handsome enough, Serenity sensed an air of snootiness from him but perhaps that was just the way he stared at the camera, or maybe it was his smooth looking dark skin?

"Wow! What a hunk. Could we be looking at the next Prince Consort? Which divine parent does he have? Is it the wise god Thoth? Or the beloved sky god Ra? Maybe Ra's guardian Isis?" Lynette said cupping her face. By the time her rant had stopped Serenity had sat down and Ophelia got up.

"Oh my I got carried away! I apologize. Ophelia thank you for participating. Please pick a province." Ophelia smiled as she tapped her chin.

"Let's go with Atlin!" She said, the red headed guard walked away and another guard came with a smaller fish bowl. Ophelia eyed it as if it was a national treasure. She stuck her hand deep in and pulled out three slips of paper. Two slipped out of the princess fingers and she kept the one that remained. She opened it and looked to the crowd.

"From Atlin, Maxim Jackson Ryland, a human." Ophelia said, waving the paper around like it was a lottery ticket. The screen switched from Hasani to a new face. A pale young man with neatly parted brown hair and sweet brown eyes.

"What a cutie!" Lynette said looking up at the picture of Maxim. Serenity felt like she had heard his name somewhere before. She shrugged it off

"Justine, our bookworm princess. I'm always interested in what you have to say." Lynette said as she beckoned Justine. The youngest princess smile and stood, she walked over to Lynette.

"Always a pleasure Lynette, although I don't have much to talk about. Let's break the cycle a bit I'll go with Columbia!" Justine chirped and waited for another guard to come with a fishbowl. Justine looked at the folded bowl and reached in picking up a name.

"From Columbia, Neil Connor a..." Justine's face turned to one of confusion. Lynette looked over at Justine, looking equally puzzled.

"What is it Justine?" Lynette asked. Justine took a short breath.

"N-Neil Connor a 93.75% vampire?" Justine said, the crowd mumbled amongst each other. Lynette took the small slip of paper.

"What?" she said looking at the paper. Justine shrugged

"That's what it says!" Justine said, the screen flip to show a profile of a red eyed vampire. His skin being slightly darker than the near ghost-white paleness of vampires.

"Well it's nice to see that some of our bachelors are well aware of their pedigree!" Lynette laughed glossing over Neil. The crowd awkwardly laughs.

"Now for our young prince, Quinn come on and pick a province." Lynette, said Quinn came up.

"Fennley or something..." Quinn said, another guard came with Fennley's fish bowl. Quinn reached in and held a large amount of papers. He let a large amount of them drop back into the bowl. One slipped onto the floor, Quinn let the rest of paper fall back into the bowl and picked the one off the floor.

"From Fennley, Sora Kurokage, A kitsune." Quinn said and walked back to couch. Lynette blinked and rolled her eyes.

"It seems we have a Kistune joining us folks!" Lynette said, she knew who Kurokage was and who his family was but kept her mouth shut. She looked at the screen.

"And what a handsome kitsune too! It seems like our next Prince consort is going to be handsome no matter what!

Serenity's mind drifted as her siblings continue picking names from fish bowls.

"From Allens, Soraes Winstron Maverick, a half vampire!"

"Remus Blakesley from Calgary"

"Catalen Onyx Ayton, a Lycan from Calgary"

"Ezequiel, a half angel from Kent!"

"Seymour Butts from... Hey!"

"Jinnar Ortega, a Half-elf from Lakedon!"

"Hikori Kojiyama, A kitsune from Sota"

"Asra Spearman, a half angel from Waverly"

"Tex Jacob Lands!" Quinn announced

"And with that we have our Selected folks! I can't wait to find which of our hunky men will win Serenity's heart. Will it be a dashing angel? A mysterious vampire? Or perhaps a cuddly kitsune. I can't wait to find out!" With that Lynette signed off. Serenity rolled her eyes.

"That went well..." Rastus said walking over to the four.

"Was it your idea to have my sibling pick my Selected for me?" Serenity asked, Rastus laughed and shook his head.

"It was Delilah's idea, I WISH I came up with it though, your face was priceless!" The mage laughed.

"Make one more quip about it and I will tear out every feather out of your peacock." Serenity threatened, Rastus gasped

"You wouldn't dare." He said

"Try me, wizard boy." She said

"Fine, come on let's go home." He said. Serenity nodded, stood up and promptly walked away. Justine, Ophelia and Quinn sat for a moment longer.

"How about we dump her in the woods." Quinn suggested

"I like the idea; we could just say she fled with a palace guard to New Britain or something." Ophelia joked

"Enough, let'sgo before they leave us here." Justine said

* * *

A/N: Boring chapter I know, but the next chapter will be the party planning and party! Yay. God it was such a pain getting this posted, first my laptop broke, then this got lost in the mail. Finally I have it posted though.


	6. Partying is Such Sweet Sorrow

A/N: I got very confused and ended up re-writing a scene 3 times…

* * *

"What do you mean you don't want a ball?" King Georgios his arms crossed, back pressed to his office chair. He looked like a child

"This isn't the Victorian times, dad. Who has balls anymore? I'd prefer to have a party. Also have you SEEN the list of Selected? Based on their applications most of them would probably prefer to do the twist rather than the Charleston." Serenity said fishing out a folded up paper from her skirt pocket.

"I would much rather do the hustle than ballet" The Lioness said as she entered.

"You're not helping Aspen." Georgios said. The Lioness rolled her eyes.

"Loosen up, sugarcube. Our daughter is old enough to make her own choices." She said as she sat in the chair next to Serenity, who showed her the paper.

"Are these notes?" The Lioness asked, Serenity nodded. The queen looked up at Georgios then at the notes.

"She isn't wrong, Georgios some of these notes say some preferred dances, like...here Mr Hardin prefers a line dance,Catalen and Hikori here seem to like cutting shapes, although that seems like a guess."

"Does nobody like a classic waltz?" Georgios asked, placing his head in his hands.

"Mrs. Crow, Delilah and you." Serenity said, The Lioness stifled a chuckle.

"Anyways, despite being king you wouldn't have won, I held an official vote on a party or ball. Everyone important voted and Delilah, Ophelia, Quinn, Justine, Lenore and Rastus voted for a party. Pearce, Mrs Crow and Breanna were the only ones that voted for a ball." The Lioness said with a smirk. Georgios jaw dropped

"Why did Pearce vote for a ball? I've seen him break dance, cut shapes and do the running man or whatever it is?" Serenity asked, puzzled as to why the captain voted for a ball.

"He would be able to keep a better eye on you and the guests. He doesn't want anyone hurt and does want a repeat of last year's charity party."

"Ok first of all, Quinn started it and secondly I had nothing to do with the bowl of jello falling on that socialite's head." Serenity said. Georgios sighed

"I was gone for two minutes and bedlam erupted. As if I didn't have a sour relationship with the dwarves then." The Lioness shook her head.

"Can you blame them? There were only five dwarves in your tournament and they were all eliminated in the first round." She said, silence then filled the room for a moment.

"The resentment is still there, very few dwarves entered the selection and of the few only two were picked."Serenity said. The Lioness looked over to Serenity and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Go speak to the others about the party, themes music and whatnot. You're father and I will handle the business side of things." The Queen said. Serenity nodded and leaned over giving her a hug.

"Thanks, Mom."Serenity said as she stood up and left. The Lioness smiled watching her daughter leave. Her smile faded as soon as Serenity was gone.

"I hope that she finds someone good in this Selection. I did a little digging and these guys… Preselecting them would have been a better option." The Lioness said as she stood up.

"So I'm sitting there, barbeque sauce on my-" Quinn started, Justine sitting across from them. They were in the sitting room. Justine was sipping tea. Quinn sat with a chocolate cigar in one hand and ice tea in the other. Delilah read a magazine nearby, with Breanna and Ophelia next to her reading the exact same magazine.

"Let me stop you before you continue that." Justine said, raising her hand, Quinn stuck his tongue in his cheek.

"You never let me have any fun.I just want to make you laugh before you lock yourself in your room." Quinn said. Justine rolled her eyes.

"For the last time Quinn, I'm not going to lock myself in my room just because Serenity is holding her Selection. I'm not you." The younger princess said. Serenity cleared her throat.

"So what party do you guys think I should have?" She said going in, everyone looked up.

"Masquerade!" Breanna said, her eyes lighting up at the idea of handsome men dressed in suits and wearing fancy masks.

"It should be eighties! That would be uh what did they say back then?… radical? Yeah that's it radical!" Delilah said turning to Ophelia.

"Oh um… Noble themed? Like everyone dresses like an aristocrat?" Ophelia suggested. Quinn scoffed

"Really? That is something Justine would suggest… How about you go with that New Asian fashion what was it? Harajojo?" Justine shook her head at Quinn's words.

"How are we related? It's called Harujuku and it predates New Asia, Quinn. I was going to suggest a tropical theme. Somewhere beautiful and exotic."

"How about we match the theme of the palace? Around the world and then some." Captain Pearce said entering, he wasn't in his uniform insteading wearing a rather casual outfit, well fitted Black shirts, cargo pants and a beat up military jacket.

"Casual Friday, Captain?" Breanna asked eyeing the man. Pearce smiled gently

"More like I'm off-duty, King Georgios has Captain Pryce covering for me. Anyways why don't you make the party around the world? The ballroom is big enough to cover that." Pearce suggested.

"Our palace isn't around the world though." Ophelia said, tapping her chin.

"Ophelia… There is a pagoda east of the Spanish style chapel, which is more of a cathedral. One that is north of the German-style guest cottages. I'd say this palace is architecturally diverse." Quinn said. Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"What? Am I not allowed to be observant. What am I, a clown to amuse you?" Quinn said. Everyone quieted down, they couldn't really disagree with him.

"Around the world would be nice actually. It could also expand our music, no belly dancers though." Serenity said as she took a seat on a couch.

"Gather round everyone, we're going to plan this together!" Serenity said, everyone crowded around her as they chatted and spitballed idea. Pearce leaned against the wall as he watched.

After about three hours they had settled on what parts of the world the party would have as well as requirements. Serenity, Ophelia and Breanna dashed off to Rastus workshop.

"She got really into that." Pearce said quietly, his eyes drifted over to Delilah, her expression was somber. The dying sunlight hiding half her face in shadow.

"Yeah she did… I'll be in the gardens, Pearce." Delilah said excusing her and leaving him and Quinn alone. Quinn stared at him,then stood up.

"I'm not used to such silence, Pearce. Think Serenity will really find someone?" Quinn asked as he ate the chocolate cigar in his hand.

"Can't say for certain. We have so many people, I don't approve of most of them but one of you will have someone. That's for certain."Pearce said, Quinn looked out the window.

"Auntie doesn't like talking about Pop's tournament. Do you know why?" Quinn asked. Pearce shook his head.

"I don't, Georgios doesn't talk about it much. Records of it exist and it's still fresh in several people's mind. All I know is that it was skewed between races 50 percent were human or elven." Pearce said. Quinn nodded and took another chocolate cigar from the wooden box.

"For that party, make sure it is around the world and not just one location." Quinn said, before pulling out his phone and tweeting.

Serenity looked at the laundry list she and her sisters had created.

"A bit much?" She asked. Ophelia and Justine looked away. Neither wanted to own up to the fact that they got carried away.

"Oh of course not, what are you talking about?" Ophelia said, scratching the back of her head.

"It's perfectly normal for a party." Justine added, adjusting her glasses. Serenity laugh nervously as she began to walk to her father's office with the list.

King Georgios was not pleased with the list.

* * *

The party was tonight and Serenity looked at the ballroom it was gorgeous, Every section was themed with a different part of the world. Orange lanterns had the tropical paradise locked into a permanent sunset. Serenity grinned at the darkened section that would be a vaguely Victorian city at night, next to a brightly lit Egyptian themed desert. The Sphinx had Justine's face with the sarcophagi having Serenity's, Quinn's and King Georgios faces. The sandy look of the desert blended to a wild jungle that had Mayan pyramids fake vines hung from the ceiling and the floor was covered in fake foliage. Serenity was satisfied, she could hardly wait for the party to begin. Feeling her stomach growl she decided to head into the kitchen for a snack.

Serenity was surprised to see Quinn, wearing a chef's uniform he was looking down at a loaf of bread, a loaf of bread that had eyes and a mouth.

"What on god's good earth is THAT!" Serenity said pointing to the loaf of bread. Quinn sighed

"I wanted to add a little magic to the cupcakes, Chef Michael and I were making for the ball, I tried it on a loaf of a bread and well. We got this." The bread's eyes turn to Serenity.

"When will you learn? When will your learn? That your actions have consequences!" It shouted in a shrill voice. Serenity was uncertain how it could speak.

"Don't respond… that's all the damn thing says." Quinn said, shaking his head.

"Rastus is going to get rid of it. I have to get back to the cupcakes." Quinn said as he pulled a mixer and several ingredients.

"Don't poison my selected Quinn. I don't want any garlic cupcakes or silver bullets in them." Quinn looked at Serenity with a mixture of disgust and offense.

"Serenity, do you know how gross garlic cupcakes would be?Silver in cupcakes too? I'm not a criminal I take my cooking VERY seriously, you see the hat?" Quinn said. Serenity apologized and quickly excused herself. She had to get ready herself, regardless. Starting with a hot bath.

Serenity sat in her room, in front of her vanity brushing her hair in a side wave. She had decided to wear a navy blue A line dress, with a lace neckline. Serenity had opted to wear low heels instead of the several high heels her maids had offered and brought her.

"I'm a total klutz in heels. Also I want to have fun!" She had told her maids who reluctantly allowed her to wear the low heels. As soon as she was ready she went to gather her siblings to join her. First she stopped by Ophelia's door and practically pounded on the door.

"Ophelia! Put the makeup gun down and let's go" Serenity shouted. The sounds of shuffling fabrics and things falling to the floor was heard from behind the door. In a few second Ophelia came out, wearing A maroon mermaid dress, it sparkled like a ruby and went well with the bright red high heels she wore.

"Off to see Oz, Dorothy?" Serenity quipped, Ophelia rolled her eyes with a light laugh.

" At least I dress well, I wouldn't be caught dead in a dress like yours." Ophelia replied, it was Serenity's turn to laugh.

"You'd have to be dead six months to fit into it."She retorted.

"Are you done?" Justine's voice called from down the hall. Both princess' jaws dropped at their sister.

Justine was wearing a little black dress with sheer stockings, black high heels shoes, Her hair was done in an updo and held with a small black and white crown hair accessory. She wasn't wearing her glasses and she wore simple onyx earrings.

"Justine you're… Ophelia, are you seeing this?" Serenity said. Ophelia wanted to rub her eyes in surprise.

"Yes, I know what you're going to say. I can dress well if I wanted to, I just don't, now are we going to go or what? " Justine said already heading to the grand staircase leading downstairs. Ophelia and Serenity nodded as they went.

Serenity hadn't realized that party had started a little under an hour ago. Several selected were already there, eating food or socializing. Some looked irate as they scanned the dance floor, probably looking for Serenity in the sea of people. Serenity blinked at the amount of people that weren't Selected. Were these people professional partygoers? Or had Delilah invited friends? Serenity didn't have time to ponder as she was approached by a Selected.

"Good evening princess." He spoke, it was a human. He was tall and dress simply in a shirt, tie and slacks. There was a small stain on his tie and the trilby he wore was askew, it irked Serenity.

"I'm amazed that you were able to spot me." Serenity said with a gentle smile. She didn't recognize this selected. He must have been a fairly unremarkable one if Serenity couldn't even recognize him.

"I'm Preston Love, princess and can I be honest with you?" He asked. Serenity was uncertain about this but gave Preston the benefit of the doubt.

"Of course you can." Serenity said as kindly as she could muster.

"I'm a nice guy, you should just pick me. I've seen these kind of guys all the time." Serenity sensed an instant red flag. She had heard about these kind of men, Ophelia had told her about how they kept hitting on her after her classes.

"What do you mean?" Serenity said, deciding to see where this man was going with all this, despite her mind yelling at her to stop.

"These guys, they just want sex and and an easy life. They don't care about you, they only want the crown. Not me though, I'll treat you right." Preston said with a grin, he looked so proud of himself. Serenity tried not to groan instead keeping a plain face.

"With all due respect, Preston. I would prefer see this for myself. It is my Selection after all." Serenity said, Preston's face turned to one of mild anger.

"Why bother princess? They're going to act all innocent around you and then when your back is turn they'll talk about how they want to pound you like yesterday's beef. Don't be a fool to fall for them.I'll eliminate for you just so they don't try to hurt you." Preston said. Serenity sighed, she had heard enough.

"You know what? You're right, I should eliminate someone tonight. Utterly crass and rude men who don't know how to treat a princess." Serenity said, Preston grinned from ear to ear.

"I knew you'd see reason, princess." He said. Serenity looked at him her face going to a saccharine sweet smile.

"Preston Love, you are dismissed from my Selection. A guard will escort you off the premises." Serenity said, Preston was flabbergasted, he growled.

"What? You eliminate your only true love? You bitch!" He yelled as Serenity gestured two guards over. She ignored Preston's insults and comments.

"Please escort Mr. Love off the premises he's been eliminated" Serenity watched as the guards forced Preston out of sight. Serenity sighed and looked around, taking a glass of what she thought was wine, it was grape juice. Over by the Moroccan themed area she saw a familiar face. It was the selected she had picked, Hasani. Serenity smiled, she never found out who his divine parent was, now seemed like a good time.

Serenity smiled and walked over to Hasani who seemed to having a good time despite being mostly alone. He had an empty glass in one hand. He turned to Serenity with a lopsided grin.

"Oh Hey! Princess wanna dance?" He asked with a slight slur in his speech. Serenity chuckled as she covered her mouth. She shook her head.

"Not right now, I just wanted to talk. I never got to know who you're divine parent is." Hasani frowned for a bit, placing the glass on a passing servant's tray. Hasani mumbled something and Serenity tilted her head.

:My dad is the god of chaos, Set." Hasani said, he opened his mouth to speak but closed it as his eyes followed someone behind Serenity, Hasani licked his lips as his attention went to whoever was behind Serenity.

"Hey, Princess we'll catch up later, yeah?" Hasani said patting Serenity shoulder and running off. Serenity turned, wondering if Hasani had spotted a friend. It seemed that he had taking a liking to Pearce who, despite being in charge of security dressed for the occasion in a smart suit and tie. He didn't seem to notice Hasani following him yet. Serenity blinked, she knew Hasani for all of a minute before he ran off. He was going to be an interesting man, especially for the son of a chaos god.

Serenity looked around to see if she spotted anyone else. She spotted Ophelia chatting with a selected, one of the two dwarves. Serenity decided to at least try to get to know him before she was accosted by another Selected.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" The Selected said, dusting off Serenity's shoulders. Serenity looked it was one of the Selected, a black kitsune.

"Oh no worries…. Um." Serenity bit her tongue, she couldn't remember his name.

"My name's Catalen! Oh but just call me Cat. It's ok if you don't remember my name. You have a bunch of Selected with cooler names."

"Maybe, but you have a unique name, Cat." Serenity said, she liked Cat. He seemed to a be a genuinely nice guy.

"Maybe this is a little forward but maybe I have this next dance?" Cat said, extending his hand out as the current song, a fast paced hip-hop song ended. Serenity smiled and took his hand.

"Why of course, and lucky you. This is my first dance of the night." Serenity said as she walked to the dance floor with Cat. In a few seconds the next song began to play and Serenity laughed.

"I didn't think my first dance would be the Macarena." She said, Cat laughed as he faced Serenity and began to dance to the music.

"It's not a romantic waltz or high energy dance but it's not like I mind." Cat said as he swayed his hips along with the song. Serenity grinned as she stepped side to side to the lyrics before stopping. She noticed that a few people had stepped away and merely looked at her dancing.

"Whatcha all looking at? C'mon move with me, dance with me." She said, after a few seconds several guests and Selected paired up and began to awkwardly dance the Macarena. Serenity moved closer to Cat who matched Serenity's moves. Both ending the dance with a bow to each grinned as she hugged Cat.

"That was really fun, Cat!" Serenity said. Cat chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Thanks, princess. I have a lot of fun too!" Serenity nodded, shelooked to the dance floor where peopel had already began dancing to the next song.

"I really wanted to spend more time with you but I have a few others too meet. I'll be looking forward to our date though!" Cat face lit up and he nodded. Serenity made her way way through the sea of people before she was yanked by her arm.

"There you are!" A male jerked her arm away.

"You don't need to manhandle me to get my attention." Serenity said glaring at the male. She didn't recognize him. Was he a friend of Quinn's? Delilah?

"You should at least formally introduce yourself to your Selected instead of wandering around." He said. Serenity sighed

"Oh EXCUSE ME, my future prince consort. How silly of me to enjoy my party and meet who I damn well please." Serenity said, every word dripping with sarcasm.

"I can see why the people of Illea prefer Ophelia over you." He spat his arms crossed. Serenity growled.

"Alright, that's enough leave the princess alone." Another voice said, Serenity looked to see another selected. He looked New Asian with fiery orange hair, chubby cheeks. He has a serious look on his face, it looked unnatural. He looked oddly familiar to Serenity, she had seen him before

"Why should I, Hikori Kojiyama? Just so you can play her like a yo-yo?" The selected crossed his arms and stared at Hikori. Hikori growled lowly. Serenity waved a guard over.

"No, because you're clearly making her uncomfortable. On top of judging her, maybe you should be as nice as the people you portray, James Nimrod. You can't treat anyone that way." James raised his fist, only to be gripped by a guard.

"You're names is James Nimrod yes?" Serenity said as she looked at her nails.

"I really liked you on Beloved, but after your seeing your actions. I'm afraid you are out of my Selection. Escort him off the premises." Serenity told the guard who pulled James away from the ballroom. Serenity turned the face went neutral before smiling. Serenity's eyes widened she recognized him now. He was on an extremely popular travel show. One that Delilah and The Lioness watch religiously, two of past competitors were in her father's tournament, both made it to the top 5.

"Hikori… or is it Koji?" Serenity asked

"You can call me Koji, princess Serenity." Serenity nodded.

"Only if you refer to me by name and not title, Koji." Serenity said, only now taking in Koji's full appearance. He was much shorter that she thought, he was pale for someone like him. The thing that stuck out the most was his fiery orange hair, the color of a warm fire that matches the warmth of his eyes that looked straight into Serenity's.

"Koji, what are you doing here? I mean I know you're a Selected but last I heard you were taking a break." Serenity said, hearing a few guards talk about him. He was certainly high-profile.

"Ah, well, I kinda hurt myself and have instead of just sitting around at home I wanted to try something new and exciting." His voice was sincere and sweet. Serenity liked it and wanted to spend a little more time with him.

"Oh well I'm glad you decided to join. I'm sure I'll enjoy your time here. Would you like to dance?" Serenity asked, extending her hand. Koji smiled but shook his head.

"I kinda wanna take the rest of the party in. Maybe later, yeah?" Koji said, disappearing into the crowd. Serenity just walked away, Koji seemed like he'd be fun, if a little wild. Captain Pearce was sure to like him.

Serenity continued walking around noticing someone leaning against a marble pillar, looking at people. Not doing anything in particular, just people watching. He was tall, pale with freckles and the stark white hair and large wings sagging on the floor, told Serenity he was an angel or perhaps a nephilim? He was handsome and his wings look fluffy. Serenity walked up to him as the music softened down to a slower song, a Spanish song. Serenity tapped the nephilim on his shoulder. The nephilim looked over at Serenity a smile slowly forming on his lips.

"Princess Serenity… Is your night going well?" He asked in a calm voice, straightening up a bit.

"Kinda of? I've already eliminated two of my selected. Thought I have met a few wonderful ones. You're… Asra right?" Asra nodded, he lifted one of his wings.

"You can touch them if you like, I noticed you looking at them." He said. Serenity giggled awkwardly.

"Was it really that obvious?" She asked before gently running her hands over the feathers. They felt nice,and were the softest thing she had ever felt, a tiny feather stuck to her hand when she pulled her hand away.

"Not really, but you tend to pick up on these things." Asra said, he looked out at the crowd of people again, then back at Serenity.

"I'm sorry,I'm not much of a partier, and besides I down want to whack people around with my wings." The nephilim said with a sheepish grin and a soft flap of his wings, blowing the confetti on the ground.

"So I guess that's a no to a dance?" Serenity joked. Asra nodded, but his eyes lit and he took Serenity hands.

"Oh! But I know you love art,I do too! Maybe when we all get settled in we can go to an art museum!" Serenity saw the light in his cool eyes and felt warm for a moment. She grinned and nodded, he let go and Serenity let him resume his people watching.

Serenity wandered around for a good while, dancing with guests. Chatting with some of the gossipy kitchen maids. She left the dance floor, a little dizzy from the people who spun in near perfect turns. Serenity stumbled and fell, only to be caught by another angel. His skin was white as snow and his hair was long and white. His eyes seemed a dark blue, Serenity blinked at him for a while before standing up.

"Um thank you." Serenity said. The angel laughed airly.

"I can't let you twist your ankle." The angel said. Serenity looked at him in angel noticed her look of confusion. He clear his throat.

"I'ma guardian angel, so I can see into the future. If you feel you would have twisted your ankle. I'm Ezequiel by the way. Just call me Zeke." He said extending his hand. Serenity shook it.

"Foresight, must be fun. So Justine picked you, huh. She seemed to have done a good job." Zeke smiled widely. Serenity felt at ease with him.

"You seem like a kind soul, Zeke. Thank you for saving me. " Serenity noticed out of the corner of her eye someone being slammed to a wall. Her eyes shifted to Zeke who stared at the person being slammed.

"Excuse me, Serenity it seems someone needs my help." Serenity grabbed Zeke's arm, the person being slammed was a Selected and so were the two holding him against the wall.

"It's ok, Zeke. I can deal this on my own. You just enjoy yourself." Zeke stopped, he didn't want to let someone being pushed around but respected Serenity's choice. He hung back to watch her actions, he didn't want her to get hurt.

"Sloppy and pathetic? Hear that, Kisaragi? The black dog thinks we're sloppy" One of the men said holding the man to the wall. His and his partner's tail showed that they were Tanuki, the tail of the man showed his kitsune heritage. Serenity marched right up to the men.

"What's going on here?" Serenity asked. The two tanuki let go of the kitsune who held a sarcastic smirk.

"We were just restraining this violent kitsune." one of them said. Serenity raised her brow and turned her eyes to the kitsune.

"Is that so? If Sora was violent, the guard would have stopped him." Both tanuki looked surprised that Serenity knew who Sora was. Sora let out a snort.

"They pinned me against a wall because, I muttered something and then didn't do anything when I ignored them." Sora explained casually.

"That dog is lying!" One of the tanuki said, pointing at Sora. Serenity groaned, she let the two tanuki try to explain before she raised her hand.

"Both of you, out of the palace now."She said, waving them off. She turned to Sora who merely stared at her with a bored expression.

"I could have handled that, princess. I didn't need you." He said. Serenity was taken aback by Sora's cold response.

"I don't doubt that you could have handled that, I won't have my selected being mistreated like that. The tanuki community might not be happy that the only tanuki in my selected last less than a day, but strife against the family isn't entirely uncommon. I'll deal with it."

Sora looked amused at Serenity response. He gave a small smile.

"Nice to know you aren't as much of a airhead as I thought" he said walking away and disappearing into the crowd. Serenity watched him leave and sighed when he was out of her sight.

"Why are the most handsome ones the coldest" She said, walking into the New Asian section of the room. Zen gardens and various plant littered the place. Not many people were here, the only person of note was a vampire, sitting on a stone bench trying to read a textbook. Serenity looked at him. He was Neil Connor, the vampire who made his bloodline VERY specific. Why was he reading? More importantly why was he so far away from everyone. Serenity wanted him to loosen up. She approached him.

"No" He said not even bothering to look up at Serenity. Serenity blinked, Neil looked up at her.

"I know you're the princess, I know you want to dance but. I just don't want to." Neil said looking back down at his book. Serenity didn't even bother she turned and left. She ended up on the dance floor again, a hip-hop song ending, people began partnering up as a Spanish song began. Serenity noticed Quinn pulling a kitchen maid awkwardly as the song's beat began to pick up. Serenity was about to leave when she felt someone stop her. Serenity turned to look expecting her Aunt Delilah by how soft the hand was. Instead it was the boy from Atlin, one of the few humans.

"Dance with me?" he asked simply, a smile on his face. A sincere one. Serenity, spun into his grasp.

"Of course!" She replied as the song began. Serenity had a bit of trouble keeping up with this Selected but he certain knew how to dance. His movement flowed so easily, that Serenity only caught her breath when they separated for a short bit, soon rejoined.

Serenity was impressed by the figure skaters dance, unlike her silly dance with Cat and the odd dance her and there this was taken seriously. Serenity enjoyed her dance with him and dance with him for another song, learning his name in the process. She only stopped when her feet began to ache, the low heels were taking their toll on her.

"Thank you for the dances, Maxim!" Serenity said. Maxim grinned at her. For the next half hour Serenity enjoyed dancing by herself, she had taken off her shoes midway through. She had caught up with Quinn and even saw Justine dancing with Delilah both who sheepishly grinned when they were caught.

"C'mon shake what you're mama gave ya!" Serenity told a selected who stood awkwardly on the dance floor. He looked up at Serenity with sad eyes.

"My mother was the most selfish woman I ever knew, she never gave me anything!" He said. Serenity backup.

"Alright, Jesus." She said as she backed away, telling a guard to escort that boy away. She could tell he wasn't going to last long.

In another half hour Serenity was sitting at a table under the fake Eiffel tower that had been erected for her. With guards suggested they probably should have held the party in another building and themed each room differently. Serenity pondered the idea and decided to use it for whatever party she had next. While rest she had met a few other selected and was now speaking to another one, some scientist named Tex Lands.

"Please not another chemistry joke." Serenity said groaning. The boy was and endless supply of bad chemistry jokes, they were amusing but only made Serenity groan, to her chemistry was alchemy but boring. She genuinely enjoyed Tex's company but couldn't get over his chemistry jokes.

"Sorry, Sorry I'll stop now" He said. Serenity thanked him. Serenity declined his invitation to dance but agreed to having some food with him. Tex had asked Serenity about her ears over food.

"That's a first, well my ear are only slightly pointy because I'm half-elf. As far as I know, elf ear depends on heritage. High elves have the pointiest ears. Wood elves have ears similar to humans." Serenity explained. Tex listen with rapt attention. After they finished their food Serenity not and shook Tex's hand, noting his incredibly soft hands. Did all her selected have something soft about them. She knew some were going to be soft boys but soft wings and soft hands?

Serenity had eventually found herself talking to a half-elf, Jinnar. Serenity had a bit of trouble listening to him. His face was handsome and he certain had the charm to keep her attention. Serenity was certain sure to feel dumb hadn't caught most of what he had said beside him saying that actions spoke louder than words, Serenity agreed and gave him a hug.

The party had begun to wind down by now and Serenity was ready to retire for the evening. Most of the guests had left and only a few remaining to eat. Ophelia was on a bench talking to a few selected who hung around her trying to get details on Serenity.

Serenity herself had been having a conversation with a fairy. Flint Pearbees.

"You were outside this whole time? No wonder I didn't see you." Serenity chastised. Flint looked a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, I was kinda bored after being in here for a while." Flint admitted. Serenity shook her head.

"Well I hope you don't stray off too far during the Selection. You're going to have to be inside a bit more often." Serenity said, Flint's eyes gleamed.

"Is that a challenge?" he asked.

"No, but just try not to fly off without telling someone. They'll go nuts trying to find you and while I understand, Captain Pearce won't find it very fun." Flint tilted his head a bit.

"Understood, anyways it was a great party, princess… but I'm going head to my room." Flint said. Serenity nodded, by the end of her conversation all the guests had left and most of the selected had left to their rooms. Serenity decided to head to her room too.

* * *

A/N: ooh we finally meet some Selected, hopefully I didn't butcher them TOO much. We'll formally meet the rest next chapter… which is pretty much just a fancy dinner. Sorry this took so long.


	7. Dinner

A/N: Truth be told, I had no idea on how to start this chapter.

* * *

The head chef, Michael groaned when he saw the list of plates and dishes he had to cook for the Selected. Serenity wanted them to have their favorite food. Some were really vague, apples. Was Michael just to put a bunch of apples on a plate? He sighed as called down all the kitchen staff.

"Alright guys, we have a lot of prep to do for tonight's dinner. So we'll need most of us here. Breanna and Lenore will take care of breakfast and dinner while the rest of us will prepare and cook dinner." Michael said as he picked up the list and began listing off who would do what

Serenity let the Selected sleep in. The party had tired them out and she didn't want them to be up early and cranky. She sat in the dining room, joined by Justine and Quinn.

"I saw you eliminate those tanukis, Serenity." Justine said as she spread strawberry jam on toast.

"I had to were bothering Sora...besides they were probably just level 1 crooks" Serenity said with a bite of bacon.

"L-Level 1 crooks?" Quinn said, sipping coffee and raising an eyebrow.

"That's how mafia works."Serenity said as she cut into her pancake. Quinn and Justine stared at her in disbelief.

"That... That's not how the mafia works at all." Justine said. Just then one of the Selected entered, one of the werewolves. He yawned as he walked in.

"Good morning!" Serenity said smiling. The young man looked over and waved sleepily. He was still in pajamas. He looked at the three for a moment then sat at the far end of the dining room. A servant walked by asked him if he wanted breakfast.

"That Remus I believe." Justine said picking up her phone.

"He seems aloof" Serenity whispered. Remus turned to them

"I can hear you." He said bluntly. Serenity quieted and looked down at her food quickly shutting up.

"Sis already forgot that there are more than just humans and elves here." Quinn said as he leaned back. Serenity's face was turning pink. Remus chuckled as he began to eat. Someone else entered. The other vampire, Serenity had missed him at the party. He smiled sweetly at Serenity and approached her.

"I'm sorry I couldn't meet you during the party." Serenity said. The vampire chuckled and shook his head.

"No no. It's better to meet like this. I'm Soraes. Honor to meet you Princess." Soraes said, taking Serenity's hand and kissing it. Serenity giggled.

"Old fashioned… I like it. Pleasure to meet you, Soraes. Go on have breakfast." Soraes nodded and took a seat not too far from Serenity. Soon the dining room began to fill up with the selected that woke up. Some dressed, others in pajamas. A few looked panicked as if they were late. Others looked content. Serenity found herself amused at some of the selected sitting together. Sora and Asra were seated each other. Occasionally speaking to each other. Hikori and Cat were deep in conversation. Neil seemed to sit alone but was quickly joined by Zeke and Jin which only made Neil glared and pull his book up to his face. Ophelia finally arrived and took a seat next to Neil who then lowered his book slightly almost immediately. Hasani sat with another demigod and spent his breakfast staring at Captain Pearce who stood at one of the doorways. Serenity finished her food and stood up. As soon as she did everyone looked at her. Serenity blinked and looked around.

"Oh… I'm just finished with my food… I don't have anything to say other than good morning." She said taking her plate and excusing herself. Quinn snickered

"What she means is that she wanted to give a speech about how you're all going to have a bloody battle royale for her hand in marriage." Justine kicked Quinn in the shin. A good chunk of the selected laughed, others groaned and someone booed. Quinn huffed and left stating he was going to sleep some more.

* * *

Captain Pearce was patrolling the royal's garden's hedge maze. It was a fun distraction but also a place for possible assassins to hide. His eyes scanned every pathway he took. He heard some rustling in the leaves. Pearce unlatched the gun in his holster. Nobody was supposed to be in the hedge maze unless they had permission. Pearce stepped closer then heard a scream. Pearce bolted to the scream only to be greeted by 3 of Serenity's selected. One on the floor staring at a large peacock, it feathers flared behind it.

"Who has a peacock here!" The one on the ground said. It was one of the angels.

"I guess Serenity likes having exotic pets" The kitsune said with a laugh, Pearce recognized him. Hikori the sports star. He was a fan.

"That's Rastus' peacock, Kundala. It likes to walk to hedge maze." Pearce said.

"Hello, handsome." The third selected said. Pearce recognized him as the one who followed him all evening and was eyeing his behind. Pearce ignored him.

"What are you doing here. Nobody is allowed here unless given permission.

"The Lioness gave us permission. She said we were free to explore the gardens as long as we didn't touch her roses." Asra said dusting himself off. That sounded reasonable the queen was quick to scold anyone who came near her roses.

"Alright, don't get lost and don't damage the hedges." Pearce said as he walked off in the opposite direction.

* * *

Michael groaned as he asked Mrs. Crow to have Ms. Adair flown in. Mrs. Crow looked at him.

"Michael, I believe that we do not have anyone like that in our contacts list." Mrs Crow said looking at her tablet.

"I know, it's one of the Selected's mother. The bastard put his mother's cooking as his favorite food and no specification. The mother is in Angeles, arrange for her to get her." Michael said as he chopped apples. Mrs Crow nodded and left the kitchen. Michael groaned as he checked on the other cooks. Everyone seemed to be doing fine. A young cook came up to him.

"Chef Michael, we have an of the Selected's favorite drink is blood. A specific kind which none of the kitchen staff have, except…"

"Except?" The chef said crossing his arms. The cook looked down, clearing his throat.

"Except you." he said. Michael let out a groan.

"For the lord's sake. This is EXACTLY why I came to work here." He said slamming his fist on the counter, startling the cook who was kneading dough. Michael dragged his hand over his face and decided that one glass wouldn't hurt him.

* * *

Unlike breakfast,Serenity had all of the selected come down to the grand dining room for dinner. Two selected had been eliminated between the morning and dinner time. They had been harassing Quinn and mistreating their personal valets. Like breakfast Selected started to trickle in some earlier than others, some came in small groups and each took their seats a few chatting with each other. Serenity sat at the end of the table,Justine, Ophelia, Quinn on one side, Delilah on the other. She clinked her spoon on a wine glass. Everyone quieted down and looked at Serenity.

"Hello, everyone. I'd like to thank you for joining the Selection and as a sort of thank you. Tonight a special dinner has been prepared for all of you." Serenity sat down and Michael came out with several kitchen maids carrying several dishes.

"For Sir Catalen, we have prepared fried chicken made with twelve herbs and spices, along with some biscuits, mashed potatoes and green beans." One of the kitchen maids said as she put Cat's dinner in front of him. The Lycan smiled widely and thanked the maid.

"For Sir Tex, chicken nuggets and root beer." Another maid said, placing the plate and leaving.

"For Sir Remus a medium-rare, Kobe steak, with some fresh spring water" another kitchen maid said.

One by one each Selected recieve their own personalized dishes. The kitchen maids disappearing when they dropped off their plates. Only Michael stayed as he began speaking to Delilah on how he made her roast chicken. She smiled as he spoke

"I think it's delightful that he relays the recipe to me." She said as she told a bite of her roast squash.

"Don't be he does this every night." Quinn said as he told a bite of his baby back ribs, wiping his mouth with a tablecloth.

"Don't be silly, Quinn" Delilah said, being interrupted by Ophelia.

"No… he really does. Every. Single. Night." Ophelia said as she took a sip of her miso soup. She glanced at some of the Selected then at Serenity.

"Make sure Rastus and Pearce teach them table manners too." Her eye catching someone wiping their lip with the table cloth. Serenity looked, it was clear some were trying to show proper etiquette but had no idea how, while others threw caution to the wind and scarfed down their food. It was going to be an interesting couple of weeks.

* * *

A/N: It's short and for some reason I wasn't able to have this up and ready for like ever (and it totally wasn't because I was writing ficlets)

Here is everyone's favorite dishes for anyone that cares

Serenity - Bourbon Chicken with Twice baked potatoes

Ophelia - Mixed Tempura and Miso Soup

Justine - Peking Duck and pickled plums

Quinn - Baby Back Ribs and Dinosaur nuggets

Delilah - Roast Beef and butternut squash

Soraes - Shrimp Soup

Hasani - His mother's food

Maxim - Burgers (preferably self-made)

Remus - Steak

Neil - Fish and Chips with AB blood for drinks

Kurokage - Lobster

Cat - Fried chicken, mashed taters and green beans

Zeke - Apples

Jin - Cookies of the chocolate chip variety

Flint - Tomato Soup and a shot of whiskey

Hikori - Curry

Asra- Sushi

Tex - McDonalds, nuggets


	8. No Way Out

A/N: Writing this was fun!

* * *

Rastus had to stop himself from laughing when he saw Serenity enter his workshop. The red dress she was wearing was covered in several creams and sauces as well as bit of food. Her hair was completely covered.

"Didn't go well?" Rastus asked as he tasted the curry he was cooking before adding some more spices.

"I'm gone two seconds and bedlam erupts." She growled as she wiped her face clean of food, using a handkerchief that lay on one of the several workbenches. She sighed as she sat down.

"Maybe this Selection was a bad idea… Or maybe I should have started with one on one dates?" She said as she picked pieces of rice out of her hair.

"Don't bother, you'll bore the audience and you have some 30 guys sticking around. Do you really want to waste a whole month dating? We're already behind schedule." The mage said leaning against the counter, watching Kundala walk around the workshop and peck at Serenity's dress eating the bit of shrimp on her.

"I'll… What?" Serenity said, confused. Rastus grinned mischievously and shook his head.

"Nothing, princess. What I'm getting at is that it's better to go on group dates then on solo dates. With group dates you'll see how your potential love will act with others. Don't wanna marry someone with zero people skills." Rastus reasoned.

Serenity pondered the idea, Rastus had a point, just how many of her Selected put on an act for her? She would have to do a group activity.

"It's only 2 o' clock. I have time for another date. Rastus gather the selected and meet me in the Men's parlor in a half hour." Serenity said.

"Ask Pearce, I deal with them enough. " Rastus said as he took out a goblet and a bottle of wine.

* * *

At 2 o' clock Captain Pearce and Argyle had every Selected in the parlor. A few of them chatted amongst each other, a few looked bored. Neil stayed in the back his nose in a book, Sora was also in the back looking bored. Zeke sat in the front, munching on an apple and chatting with Cat. Soraes and Asra sat on a couch talking about art. Everyone quieted down when Rastus and Serenity entered.

Serenity was wearing a red tea dress with some high top sneakers and striped leggings.

"Hello, Alice" Rastus spoke, as he tapped his staff against the floor. Conjuring up a large multicolored wheel.

"Alright you lot, Serenity's date this morning went… bad. She has decided that this cannot stand so she will go on another date. However in order to speed things along 4 of your will be chosen at random to go with her." Rastus said as he waved his staff and names began appearing on the wheel.

"We will be going to an escape room! I like working with others and I hope you are good at puzzling solving." Serenity said with a wink.

"But letting Serenity choose is boring so I, Pearce and Argyle will spin the wheel!" Rastus said as he placed his hand on the wheel and spun it. Everyone watched the wheel spin for what seemed like an eternity before it slowed down and stopped.

"Our first boy is Flint Peabody!" Rastus said. Flint shot up from a chair he was seated in. He walked up next to Serenity, small wings fluttering.

"Here! And it's Pearbees." He said.

"I don't care." Rastus said as he gestured for Argyle to spin the wheel. The servant placed his hand on the wheel and spun it weakly. The wheel barely spun before stopping on a name. Argyle looked at it.

"Asra…" He said quietly. Asra looked up from the conversation he was having with Soreas. He walked up and stood next to Flint with a small smile on his face. He seemed like he wanted to be pluxur

"Pearce…" Argyle said before walking away and out of the room.

Pearce rolled his eyes, a silly smile on his face and spun the wheel. The wheel slowed for far too long before landing on a name.

"I'd like to solve the puzzle. Catalen Ayton" A ding sound came from nowhere and Cat stood up and took his place next to the other selected. Rastus noticed that nobody was left to spin the wheel.

"Well I'm not incredibly cruel so spin the wheel Serenity." The mage said mischievously, bowing to Serenity.

"Can't I just pick my last Selected? It is MY Selection." Serenity argued. Rastus tapped his finger on his chin and thought for a second.

"And let you have control of your own future? Now that's just silly, it's not like we let you have your own choice in seeing people you meet throughout life. Instead having random men come here in some kind of reality show." Rastus said shrugging on the other side of the wheel.

"What are you prattling on about?" Peace said. Rastus looked over and smirked.

"Nothing, really aimless rambling." By the time Rastus had finished his monologue Serenity had already spun the wheel and was now slowing, landing on an orange slice. Serenity read the name, then went quiet.

"Can I spin again?" She asked, placing her hand on the wheel. Rastus stopped her and read the name.

"Neil Connor, our not-quite-half vampire." Neil looked up from his book and threw his head back in a sigh. He stood up and stood opposite of the other selected. Whilst the other 3 looked at least mildly happy. Neil just looked annoyed, he kept reading.

"Not excited?" Rastus asked. Neil looked at the mage.

"Escape rooms are always too easy. I would have preferred something challenging." Neil said bluntly. Rastus was amused by the vampire's response.

"The rest of you have the day off, same rules as always. No entry into restricted areas, don't bother King Georgios and The Lioness always takes challenges. Also Prince Quinn has left for the day so you're allowed to use the half pipe in his room. " Rastus said as he left. The remaining selected left. Some heading to the Queen's office to challenge her, some following Rastus for some magic lesson and other heading to the gardens.

* * *

Pearce escorted Serenity and her selected to a luxurious car. Serenity looked at Pearce in a moment of confusion.

"You asked that we be as inconspicuous as possible." Pearce said sheepishly. Serenity groaned, she wanted to facepalm, but doing so would smudge her make-up. She didn't want to waste Breanna's hard work.

"So a brand new luxury car your idea of inconspicuous?" Serenity said in disbelief.

"The King took Miss Delilah's word over mine." Pearce said. Serenity didn't put it past Delilah to pick luxury over comfort. From all her social media posts she did nothing but travel in luxury. She had met more royals than Serenity, Ophelia, Justine and Quinn combined.

The driver remained silent as Serenity chatted with her Selected. Pearce was following them on his motorcycle.

"I'm sorry that happened to you." Serenity said as she gently stroked Cat's tail. Cat shook his head.

"It's ok, it wasn't your fault." He said, as he leaned back into his seat. Serenity turned to Asra.

"So Asra, you're from Waverly, right? Have you been to the museums there? I've only been there once on a summit with my father." Asra smiled widely.

"I've been to every museum in Waverly. The art there is wonderful, although I'd like to see the museums of Angeles, I've never been to them before but I hear they're amazing."

"They really are, there is the Angeles County Museum of Art. The Getty, MOCA and so many more!" Serenity chirped, he head filled with the art she had seen.

"I'd love to see them with you princess. I'm sure they're wonderful." Serenity nodded.

"We're here." The driver announced. Pearce opened the door and everyone got out. The location looked like a large warehouse painted in highly stylized drawings of various scenarios, that were probably the various escape room. Neil held an umbrella to shade himself from the blazing sun. Cat's tail swished and Asra lifted his wings up off the hot pavement.

"How gaudy." Neil said. Serenity looked at the sign it said NoWayOut Escape Rooms. Serenity entered. It was simple looking waiting area with a few board games. A fairy receptionist sat at the front desk, reading a magazine,her butterfly wings flapping slowly. She put the magazine down when she saw Serenity and her group.

"Hello! Welcome to NoWayOut Escape rooms are you the 3:30 group?" She asked in a sweet but fake voice. Serenity nodded. The fairy handed them all tablet with waivers to sign.

"Alright, and you are here for the "My Beloved" room right? Alright just a second." The fairy said as she disappeared into the hall. Serenity sat down on the plush couch and pulled a game of Jenga, stacking up the bricks.

"Fancy a game, boys?" She said, everyone joined, even Neil allowed himself to play, setting his book down for a second.

Midway through the game another group entered. Serenity heard a familiar voice.

"So I told him, model buildings fine but to waste a perfectly good bottle, I could fill it with gin for thrupence." It was Ophelia who was with two girls, probably from one of her classes.

"Ophelia?!" Serenity said, startling Neil which caused him to drop the entire tower of blocks and glaring angrily at Serenity his expression lightening when he saw Ophelia. Ophelia looked like a deer in headlights.

"Serenity! I thought you finished your date!" Ophelia said as the two girls stood in shock.

"I went on another one, since there was time. What are you doing here?" The selected and the girl stared at each other then the two sisters.

"I was going to do an escape room with my friends." Ophelia said. One of her friends spoke up

"O-Oh we can do this another time. I don't want to bother the princess. C'mon Cheryl let's go." The girl said, grabbing the arm of her angelic friend and leaving quickly. Ophelia wanted to stop them but they were already gone. The younger princess sighed

"Sorry?" Serenity said. Ophelia sighed and sat down, piling the Jenga blocks again.

"It's fine, we'll just reschedule." Ophelia said and greeted each selected with mild disinterest. The fairy receptionist came back.

"Oh, you have another. Well she just has to sign." She said handing Ophelia a tablet. Figuring she would join instead of waiting outside with Pearce she signed.

"Follow me." The receptionist said, fluttering down the hall to a section where the wall was styled like a large old house. She opened the door and let everyone in.

"Alright so the story here is that you're kidnapped by a "secret admirier" who wants to take you away to be together forever. You have one hour to escape before he comes back from finalizing a way to take you away. Please place all your phones and other items in this box."The fairy pointed to a wooden box on a shelf. If you need any tips just call out that you need a tip and if you have any kind of emergency there is a red button next to the door here. Good luck." The receptionist said and closed the door.

When the door closed a voice called out from nowhere, startling Cat and Flint.

"Ah… I see you awake my sweethearts. I can't wait for us to finally be together forever. I have to do a few things, my beloved. So just sit tight, I'll be back." The voice said. Once it ended everyone looked around except for Neil who sat down on the Victorian style armchair.

"Looks like were in a basement." Serenity said looking at the stairs that led up to a door with 3 keyholes. Asra went over to inspect a desk opening different drawers and taking out an assortment of postcards, old photos, small marbles and a small ballerina figurine. Ophelia looked at a few empty frames on the wall between pictures of landmarks. Cat was searching a collection of furniture in a corner. His fingers pressed a smooth section of the wall and a gramophone popped up from the floor, startling the poor kitsune.

Serenity made her way over to Asra and looked at the postcards. They were different locations around the world.

"...but this doesn't make sense. The postcard is of Saint Paul's Cathedral but the post card says Saint Basil's Cathedral." Asra said. Neil groaned, he had figured it out but didn't want to spoil their fun.

"And this one said The Louvre but the postcard is of Buckingham palace… wait a second." Ophelia looked at the frames and the pictures next to them.

"Guys look at the pictures on the wall there are landmarks of their country. Look there is the Eiffel tower next to an empty frame which is next to Big Ben." Ophelia took the postcard of Buckingham Palace and placed it in the frame between The two pictures. Serenity did the say to the postcard of Saint Paul's Cathedral on the opposite side of Big Ben and next to the Kremlin. Asra picked up the last one and place it in it's last spot. Once all three were in their spot a grandfather clock rang and opened, showing a key dangling from it's pendulum and a in as well.

The voice rang out again.

"Ah, my dear beloved. I couldn't bear to be away from you, but my business is taking more time. I promise that in about 50 minutes I will be home." The eerie voice sent chills up Serenity's spine. She took the key and record and slipped the key in the pocket of her dress.,

"I uncovered a gramophone maybe we need to use it?" the Lycan said, Serenity shrugged and put the record on. It started playing Chopin's Nocturne op.9 No 2. Everyone was so into the music that when the room made a loud crashing sound, everyone except Neil jumped. Neil got out of his chair and head to the desk, where the sound came swept some dust and picked up another record and the ballerina figurine.

"Here." he said handing the record to Ophelia. She thanked him and put it on the gramophone. It started playing Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Suddenly a collection of objects appeared on a shelf; a snowglobe, a ragdoll and a music box. Serenity walked over and opened the box. It was missing a figurine. Neil came over and stuck the figurine in, then went over to the gramophone and flipped the record. The other side began to play Fuer Elise. The ballerina spun and a key dropped from the ceiling onto the ragdoll.

Neil then took the first record and played the other side which began playing another piece that cause Neil and Ophelia to laugh.

"Oh my god!" Ophelia said

"What is it?" Asra asked.

"It's Mozart's Leck mich im Arsch or basically kiss my ass." Neil said, trying to stifle a laugh. The gramophone open a small drawer on the side to reveal a key. Serenity awkwardly took the key and went to the door. She unlocked all three lock, before exiting she asked one of them to change the song.

Cat switched it back to Fuer Elise.

The group was now in some sort of foyer, it was sectioned into two parts a glass wall divide them from the front door. The voice came again.

"Ah-ah I was afraid you might try to leave me, love so I blocked off your access to the door." The voice faded then came again to tell them they only had 40 minutes left.

The foyer was sparsely decorated with a sofa, a few cabinets and a glass case. Oddly the front of the foyer was decorated the same except for two door on their side, one that seemed to lead to the back and one to the right, a few fake candles and a dimly lit chandelier illuminated the place giving it an eerie feeling . Serenity didn't see any difference between the two sections before she called out.

"Hey! Can we have a hint?" She called out.

"Alright, isn't it peculiar that the other side is decorated the same? However it seems your admirer couldn't find enough of the same exact things." Serenity didn't find that all the helpful.

"The plates." Flint pointed out, point to the cabinet on the other side.

"Those plates are different." Cat said, climbing on the cabinet and looking at the plates on their side then the other side.

"The plates on the other side of some old dudes!" Ophelia said. Serenity and Asra sighed at the same time.

"Old dudes? Those are artists that one with the beard is Claude Monet" Serenity said

"That one is Edouard Manet." Asra said

"And that last one with the derby is Pierre-Auguste Renoir!" Both said, staring at each other for a brief moment. Cat picked up the plates on their side and handed them to Asra and Serenity. "You guys are the artists so whose painting is who." Serenity and Asra looked at each for a few seconds before handing Cat the plates in order of paintings according to the artist. The door to the back opened with a loud creak.

"That was… surprisingly easy." Ophelia said as she walked into the next room. Followed by Serenity, Neil, Cat and Asra.

The back room was a large living room. A taxidermied wooly mammoth stood at the end of the hall. A piano at the other end. Bookshelves lined the walls each filled with books. A half finished chess game sat on a table and a spiral staircase led to an upper room. The door to upstairs had 3 gears missing.

Neil went over to the unfinished game and stared at it for a brief moment before sitting down to it. Asra inspected the mammoth, looking under it for anything. Serenity looked at every book in the bookshelves eventually reaching a fireplace. She looked inside and found a half burnt sheet of paper. Serenity sifted more until she found a scrap of paper.

" LB RG" Serenity read. She kept the scrap as she stood up and took the sheet to Ophelia.

"Ophelia, I found some sheet music. You can play the piano right? Play this." She asked. Ophelia nodded and took the sheet. It was covered and soot but still legible. She began to play, it was a slow melody as soon as Ophelia finish a sack fell from somewhere. Cat headed to the sack and opened it. Inside was a blue glass ball painted like an eyeball.

"Someone lose their glass eye?" Cat joked.

"Checkmate" Neil said. Everyone turned it seemed that Neil was playing chess and had the opponent in checkmate. In doing so a gear dropped from the table onto Neil's foot.

"Rude." He said as he picked up the gear. And looked up at the door.

Asra looked at the books, none seemed out of place. Most were texts on the various species of Illea. Angels,demons, kitsunes, lycans, dwarves. Asra noticed a book that looked different. It looked new, too new. He pulled it and found that it was a trigger of some sort. The bookshelf spun and another sack lay on a pedestal. Asra looked inside and there was another glass ball. Green this time.

The voice called out alerting them they had 20 minutes left.

Ophelia looked up at the mammoth. It's mouth was closed and the sockets looked dark. Ophelia squinted and notices the mammoth was missing it's eyes.

Asra, Cat hand me the balls." She said and went up to the mammoth's head. Sticking the blue ball into the mammoth's right socket and the green in the left, nothing happened. Ophelia was confused. Serenity looked at her paper she now realized what it was.

"Switch the eyes." She said. Ophelia shrugged and switched them. The Mammoth's mouth opened and two gears fell from its mouth.

"Two?" Serenity said.

"Oopsie…" The fairy's voice. Serenity just shrugged and went up to the door placing the gears. The door opened up into an attic. The attic was empty except for a series of panels on one wall and a large combination lock on the other end.

Ophelia looked and the panels and flipped some. It seemed she solved something because a click was heard. Serenity was amazed and then turned to the lock. Instead of numbers and letter it had names and items. She was confused and took a sheet of paper that was on the wall and read it aloud.

"At the dinner party were Lady Nabakov, Doctor Huxley, Countess Shelley, Madam Bradbury, and Baroness Burgess.

The women sat in a row. They all wore different colors and Countess Shelley wore a jaunty red hat. Madam Bradbury was at the far left, next to the guest wearing a blue jacket. The lady in yellow sat left of someone in green. I remember that purple outfit because the woman spilled her wine all over it. The traveler from Waverly was dressed entirely in pink. When one of the dinner guests bragged about her alexandrite ring the woman next to her said they were finer in Angeles, where she lived.

So Doctor Huxley showed off a prized padparadscha necklace, at which the lady from Whites scoffed, saying it was no match for her gold bangles. Someone else carried a valuable jade tiara and when she saw it, the visitor from Carolina next to her almost spilled her neighbor's absinthe. Baroness Burgess raised her whiskey in toast. The lady from Paloma, full of beer, jumped up onto the table falling onto the guest in the center seat, spilling the poor woman's scotch. Then Lady Nabakov captivated them all with a story about her wild youth in Fennley.

In the morning there were four heirlooms under the table: padparadscha necklace, gold bangles, jade tiara, and silver medal.

But who owned each?"

"This doesn't make any sense" Serenity said. Each selected racked thier brains trying to figure it out. Neil snatched the paper from Serenity.

"Finally something worthwhile." He said as he inspected the lock and the sheet. The items and names matched he took his time solving the puzzle." He finally was able to solve it after 3 minutes.

"Logic puzzle. Was a little tough" he said proudly. Another lock clicked and a trap door opened under Flint who fell. Serenity rushed over.

"Flint!" She called out. Flint shouted that he was fine but it was dark.

"I can't see and I can't get out!" He called back.

"Don't worry I'll save you!" Cat said jumping in after him. Cat let out a wince

"Ow! I landed on my tail." He said. Then Asra jumped in followed by Ophelia, Neil and finally Serenity. Once they were all in the lights lit up and illuminated a backyard looking area. The fairy's voice sound out.

"Congrats! You won! You escaped your stalker with 5 minutes left!" The fairy receptionist said as she opened the door that led out of the escape room. Serenity smiled everyone had done well in the room. She had fun and hoped her other group dates would go just as well.

* * *

A/N: That escape room was kinda based on the many rooms I did.


	9. Karts and Crashes

A/N: Does anybody even still read this?

* * *

"Go-Karting could be fun." Serenity said as she let Breanna brush her hair. She looked at the flyer Quinn had given her.

"I once went go-karting. Although it wasn't as extravagant as this." Breanna said as she put the brush down.

"Did you have fun?" Serenity asked,looking herself once more in the mirror before going downstairs to meet her Selected.

"It was enjoyable. Although this might be more fun considering the courses they have." Breanna said, eyeing the flyer.

"Well, it's not like I had any else planned, I mean we probably could have done something else. Go karting it is!" Serenity said as she stood up and exited her smiled as she put the brush down and went about tidying Serenity's room.

Serenity walked down to the men's parlor to find nobody. The men's parlor was empty and it looked like nobody had been there.

"Your boyfriends are in the gardens, Peace kicked em out there." Quinn said as he passed by, startling Serenity.

"You better catch up before they get their asses kicked by mom." Quinn said and then left, probably headed to the kitchen. Serenity headed towards the garden where the Lioness stood on a stone platform, wearing some light armor instead of her queenly raiments. She had a rapier in one hand and the other was tied behind her back. Surrounding her were three of Serenity's Selected. Each of them holding swords. Off to the sideline were six more of Serenity's selected, each nursing a minor wound or looking defeated.

Serenity noticed that one Selected in particular was pinned to the floor with Pearce holding his arms behind him and digging his knee into his back. It was Hasani, the ground next to him looked cracked.

"He lost and got mad." Pearce said cooly as Hasani weakly struggled. He didn't look angry, to Serenity he looked like he was enjoying himself. Serenity turned her attention back to the Lioness who dodged and parried every slash and thrust the Selected made. It looked like a marvelous dance to Serenity.

"Come on boys. Are you going to fight or just going wave those sticks around. You hard boiled turtle slappers." The Lioness laughed as she artfully dodged an overhead swiped and knock one of Selected off his feet,where the Lioness tapped his shoulder with her rapier.

"Azrael, OUT!" Pearce said as Azrael grumbled. The young man walked off

"You're open!" Hikkori shouted as he dashed to the queen with quick stride. The Lioness side stepped and tapped the small of the kitsune's back with her rapier.

"Hikkori out!" Pearce announced. The Lioness made quick work of the last remaining Selected who struggled the queen's quick thrusts. Once he was out the queen laughed as she let Pearce cut the rope from her wrist. She ran a hand through her hair and handed Pearce her rapier.

"C'mon boys. 10 of you face me head on and not one of you landed a hit on me. How do I know that you'll protect my daughter if an assassin attacks her?" The lioness said as Pearce sheathed her rapier.

Serenity stepped on the stone platform and everyone turned to her.

"Two things. First some of you are going home. It's been a little over three weeks since you all came and I'm sorry but it's clear you have no interest in me."

"And that means the Selection is over. Everyone go home!" Quinn shouted from a window. Serenity looked up at him with a glare. She sighed as she continued, trying to keep a straight face

"4 of your will be escorted out by Captain Pearce. I am truly sorry. Now then another 4 of you will be picked. Hikkori, Jinnar, Remus and Maxim… You have been selected for today's date. Jinnar let out a small sigh of relief, Hikkori and Maxim gave a slight chuckle and Remus stayed silent. Serenity awkwardly smiled and nodded her head.

"We will be going go-karting so get ready and meet me in the foyer in an hour." Serenity said with a curtsy and left. She wanted to stay and chat but had to get ready. She wouldn't be able to wear a dress this time. It would probably get caught in the wheels or something similar. She wouldn't want to ruin a dress or worse, get tossed onto the track.. She called Breanna up to assist her.

* * *

"High tops and shorts?" Serenity suggested as she laid out some shorts with a sleeveless shirt and a flannel shirt over it.

"I wasn't aware the princess wanted to look like a hipster." Breanna teased as she dug around the clothes pulling out a pair of leather pants and a black and red striped t-shirt. Breanna then grinned.

"Well you shouldn't be dressed in some big dress. So try that along… these." Breanna said. Handing Serenity a leather jacket and motorcycle boots, Serenity looked at the ensemble, it was certainly different. She wasn't even certain if these clothes were hers.

"You want me to look like a punk?" Serenity said as she tried on the jacket, it fit well. The lingering scent of roses told her this was a gift from Delilah.

"Just want to make you look different, Serenity. Especially if you're going to be racing around some courses. Serenity looked at herself in the mirror, she looked like she came straight out of The Outsiders. She didn't hate the look, but she was worried what the others might think.

Serenity stood nervously in the foyer, Pearce quietly by her side. Justine sat nearby, her nose buried in a book forbidden love.

"I don't think that they're coming." Justine offhandedly said. She might have been right 5 minutes had past and none of the selected had arrived yet. Serenity looked down at her boots and was about to tell Pearce to cancel when Hikkori came running in, wearing a biker outfit. Something the surprised both Serenity and Pearce.

"Sorry I'm late! I lost track of time." Hikkori paused when saw Serenity. Serenity looked away.

"Wow, Serenity. You look… different. It's good!" Hikkori said flashing a smile, Serenity felt relieved Hikkori took a seat as they wait for the rest.

Jinnar came next, dressed more casually than Hikkori and Serenity. His long blond hair tied up into a bun. He smiled shyly at Serenity and stood next to her. Serenity noticed that Jinnar kept his smile.

"Excited?" She asked him. Jinnar nodded excitedly.

"Yeah!, I've never been go-karting. It sounds like it'll be fun. I don't know how well we'll get to know each other though." Jinnar said. He was right, how would Serenity get to know her Selected when they were each trying to outrace each other.

"Although actions speak louder than words so this might be better." Jinnar said. Serenity was confused for a few moments when Pearce announced that Maxim and Remus has arrived.

Maxim was dressed rather stylishly, a stylized hybrid of fashion and biker wear that stood out against Remus' simple outfit.

"Maxim! You look really good!" Serenity said. Maxim chuckled with a good-natured smile. The compliment was unexpected.

"Thank you, Princess, you look good too." Remus coughed loudly. Serenity turned her attention to him.

"Remus! I'm glad that you came! " Serenity said. Remus looked away and murmured.

"I'd be eliminated if I didn't and if I'm being honest. I'd rather not go home this early." Serenity was a little surprised by his reply. She chalked it up to the competitive nature of the Selection. Everyone had a reason for joining, unfortunately none of them seem to be there for her.

Pearce and two palace guards escorted Serenity and the boys to another luxury car. Serenity groaned again. Pearce shook his head and merely said something about Delilah. Serenity sighed as she entered the car. Serenity stay silent for the most part this time, instead she chose to listen to her selected chat. All of them seemed a little awkward for the most part only Maxim spoke, trying hard to get the others to speak. Eventually Hikkori joined him in speaking about some of the sports he partook in. Serenity gave a soft smile hearing Hikkori speak with enthusiasm.

The ride took longer than they expected. When they arrived they were a fair distance away from the city. Serenity stared out. There was a fairly large, beige building in front of them. Followed by several stretches of black road, and a few stretches that lead to a dark tunnel that seemed to go into the ground. There was a large, neon sign above the door that read "Red Hot Roy's Red Hot Racing." On the sign there was an image of a young boy in a go kart with flame tracks behind him.

"What's with the redundant sign?" Pearce asked, still wearing his motorcycle helmet. Serenity shrugged. Her selected stared out at the track.

"Looks simple enough." Maxim said

"All those turns! This is gonna be fun!" Hikkori chimed in.

"Let's hope nobody gets hurt." Jinnar said, eyeing a particularly sharp curve.

Remus stayed quiet, observing the track.

Once they were inside an angel with black dyed wings sat behind the desk reading a magazine. He looked up.

"Oh! You must be Quinny's sister. He told me all about you!" He said,wings fluttering, dropping a few black feathers.

"Quinny's? Quinn… um yeah we're here for-" The angel stopped Serenity..

"Yeah, I know. Quinny told me." The angel whistled loudly and in entered another angel with gold dyed wings.

"Zach, I told not to call me while I'm- Oh customers, welcome!" The gold winged angel said.

"They're the one Quinny told us about, Archie." Zach said, leaning on the desk." Archie smiled at them awkwardly.

"Ah so you're here for a date. What a fine selection of fellas you have! Alright follow me, I'll show you around. Quinny went ahead and chose the courses for you, he said he knew what you'll like." Serenity groaned and resisting the urge to facepalm out of fear of fracturing her skull.

"When will I EVER get to decide anything? For an event surrounding me I never get to make any choices." Serenity said. Maxim patted her shoulder, with a comforting smile.

"Just wait until you start to have 1-on-1 dates. You'll be able to choose where to go and what to do… at least with me." Serenity nodded, she couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks, Max…" Serenity said as she walked to the karts, her mind drifted for a bit so much so that she missed a part of Archie's explanation.

"...so there is a bit of magic in the kart, but only so they don't get completely totaled. Before each course we cast a protective barrier spell around you so you don't get majorly hurt. If your body can't handle magic or is heavily magic resistant then you can hang onto one of these talismans." Archie then pulled out a small stone octagon with a small carving of a dog running around a cross on one side.

"They're not quite magic, more of a condensed form of divine intervention." Archie explained as he pocketed the talisman. "Regardless. There will be four courses, all of these special courses are made with magecraft and illusionary magic. That being said if you stay on the actual course you should be fine. Try to go out of bounds and you won't get very far, but you're all big kids. Now for the fun part. The courses." Archie said leading them to a room with a large screen.

"Alright as I said before Quinny chose these courses. Your first course is going to be Moonlight Highway." The screen lit up to show what looked like a city, throughout the city was a wide black road with various kinds of cars and trucks driving on them.

"Moonlight Highway makes you feel like you're driving through a beautiful city. The only real hazard here is driving into those cars, trucks and bombs. You won't die if you hit them but you're almost guaranteed to land in last if you hit them." Archie explained. The screen flickered and changed to a large pinball machine.

"I know, I know. This is just an ordinary pinball machine, right? Nope it's an actual course, stylized as a pinball machine . You might not be the ball so watch out for that, be sure to steer clear of the bumpers or you might just find yourself bouncing around." Archie said as the screen switch to an image of a toy box with a red colored road.

"Toy box, the road is cloth so might be a bit trick but it's a fairly simple track. Unless you whack your head on the giant jack-in-the-box you should be fine."Archie said as he moved one.

"The last and my personal favorite, Castle Siege. In here you'll be dodging cannon balls, driving around flamethrowers and finally being shot out of a cannon to a castle." Archie said as he showed images of the half destroyed castle and cannon.

"Uh… Is that cannon safe?" Serenity asked. Archie looked at the cannon then back at Serenity.

"Probably not." Archie said. That wasn't the answer Serenity was looking for. Archie then turned off the screen.

"We have quite a few carts for you lot to decide." Archie said as he guided the group to a garage. Several stylized karts haphazardly parked all over.

"First up, we have you standard race kart. It's even all around, perfect if you like it plain." Archie explained. It looked rather plain, with the only thing of note being a large bumper and a pair of golden wings spray painted on the hood.

The next couple of karts looked was a long thin one, with racing looked more like a racing kart than a go kart. Another which looked like a cadillac, one that looked like a jeep and one that was simply a plane on wheels. Serenity and the Selected listened with rapt attention to Archie as he talked about the kart. The way he spoke and the charismatic attitude had their attention, for a moment, Serenity wondered if he had signed up to join the Selection.

"Alright, that's all of them, take your pick." Archie said with a bow. Serenity walked carefully eyeing each kart, she was only half paying attention so she wasn't entirely sure which kart was the fastest. Serenity looked at a kart that looked like an old car she had once seen in Aunt Delilah's social media pictures. The front was long, almost comically so. Despite it being a go-kart it had headlights. Serenity smiled as she decided to take this one. She hopped in and go ready.

Remus didn't like the design of many of the karts, they looked too uncomfortable. Remus then saw one that looked like it was just a simple box with a fearsome faux wolf on the front. Remus walked over, touching the sides and the head. It was definitely fake The werewolf would have quit and stormed out if it was real. He had heard rumors of werewolves being hunted for sport, even if was illegal. He climbed in and revved it's engine, carefully maneuvering around the other karts.

Hikkori look around for a few moments before he raced over to a kart that was simple a chopper-motorbike. He asked Archie if it was available, the angel nodded explaining that it was new and should be on even footing with the other karts.

Jinnar looked at the karts, there were so many interesting ones. He spent a good time feeling each one. The checkered cadillac interested him, but there egg shaped one looked very interesting. Jinnar took a look as some of the more interesting ones such a one shaped like a dragon's claw. He looked back at Hikkori and Serenity's choice. If they were going to go with something that looked like a normal car he probably should too. The cadillac was big and imposing, If Jinnar couldn't win by speed he'd probably be able to ram the others off course.

Maxim had a bit of a hard time picking a kart. A lot of them weren't all to pleasing to the eye. Archie's explanations didn't help. He wanted something that would make him win but also look good. He looked at a kart shaped like a shooting star. It was a gaudy yellow and white, but looked nice. He asked Archie for a quick run-down and found out it was quick. Speed was everything in these races, right?

Once everyone was settled in Archie called Zach over to help him cast a protection spell on each of them. Serenity felt a tingly feeling as what appeared to be a light blue translucent sheet phased through her. Archie then quickly explained how to drop out if they decided that they had enough and asked them to follow him as he escorted them to the course. The angel flapped his wings a few times and gently glided ahead, beckoning the other to follow.

"Just to let you all know, you won't get any brownie points for letting me win." Serenity teased.

"Good, I don't intend to lose, princess" Maxim teased back and grinned.

"I love a good competition, don't cry if you guys lose." Jinnar said playfully.

"No way am I losing to you guys." Remus said quietly, glancing at the other then at the wolf head of his kart.

"I'm here to have a good time but that doesn't mean that I intend to lose!" Hikkori yelled, clearly excited.

* * *

They followed Archie through a dark tunnel that led out into what appeared to be a highway, that dipped and headed through a forest. A cityscape was behind them, Everyone seemed impressed, Archie chuckled.

"Pretty cool right?, This is Moonlight Highway,a simple two lap course. Line up" he said as he flew over to a low street light and pulled out a checkered flag from a holder in the light. Once the karts lined up he held up the flag.

"Alright, get ready." he said and kicked the stoplight which started on red, then turning yellow.

"GO!" Archie yelled waving the flag as the light turned green. All of them took off, following the track into the forest. Serenity was taking the lead quickly, although had trouble turning when the road shifted, onto a bridge heading over a large cliff, letting Hikkori take the lead. Remus was falling behind but managed to gain a lead as he hit a ramp that launched him over the cliff. Remus gripped the wheel tightly as he flew landing, in front of a toll booth, the bar rose and he quickly drove onto a four lane road, hoping to gain a significant lead on the other.

Maxim was competing with Serenity for second place, both occasionally bumping into each other's car. The both lost focus for a second as Jinnar zipped past them. Let out an airy chuckle. Serenity recovered quickly and past Maxim who focused on the road and sped up, trying to catch up to Serenity and not land in last.

Remus grinned as he looked behind him and saw nothing but the checkered cadillac of Jinnar in the distance. He was winning!" His grin turned to a look of shock when he turned his focus back to the road. He was on the wrong side of the road! The werewolf tried to swerve out of the way, hitting one of the bomb car. Remus flinched as he felt the explosion. He opened his eyes and patted himself.

"I'm alive?" He said, suddenly remembering the spell Archie and Zach cast. As he started up his kart again Jinnar past him, followed quickly by Serenity. Remus gathered his bearings quickly and sped off before Hikkori could pass him. .

Hikkori was enjoying the feeling of the wind in his hair, only half caring about the race. But he certainly didn't want to be last. He was content being in third but figured he could do better. He noticed that bumping certain cars sped his bike up. He leaned toward a car covered in arrow stickers, lightly tapping it with the side of his bike. Hikkori kart zipped forward and bumped into the back of Serenity's kart. She flinched and looked at the sheepish face of Hikkori.

"There are easier ways to get my attention, Hikkori." She teased as she switched between facing him and the road. Hikkori chuckled, before he saw a chance to pass her.

"It's not to get your attention, it's to distract you." He said awkwardly. Serenity tilted her head turning back to the road where she collided with a truck, allowing Hikkori to pass her. That was just pure luck, but Serenity didn't have to know that.

Archie announced that they were on the last lap with Jinnar in first, Hikkori in second, Serenity in third, Remus in fourth and Maxim in fifth.

Hikkori was gaining speed on a Jinnar who kept his focus on the road ahead. Jinnar grit his teeth as he decided to take the bridge over the cliff instead of risking the ramp. In the corner of his eye he saw Hikkori fly off the ramp and performing some trick midair and landing past the toll booth. Jinnar had to admit he was impressed as he drove. After he reached the toll both he tried to get his lead back. Weaving through the cars, he managed to catch up when a bomb car rear end him, launching his right into a truck. Jinnar saw stars from the force he hit the truck.

Maxim was fighting Remus for 4th. Both had wound up in the end and Maxim hadn't even taken the lead yet. Maxim pulled away from Remus and tried to nudge the arrow cars. Noticing Serenity doing the same. His eyes scanned the cars, steering clear of the bomb cars. He spotted an arrow car and speed up towards it. He leaned trying to gain the boost. Maxim missed by a few inches and watched as Remus hit the arrow car and zipped forward. Maxim wasn't going to let Remus take his place. He let the arrow car rear end him and sped forward.

Serenity was a little disappointed that the boys were more focused on outdoing each other. They almost forgot about her. She kept slipping between second and third. She spotted Jinnar behind her and wondered how he ended up behind her. Wasn't he in first? Serenity shrugged as she now had competition and tried to stay ahead and away.

"FINISH!" Archie announced as he saw Hikkori cross the finish line while doing a wheelie. Followed by Remus who managed to bounce off of arrow cars and into second. Serenity then arrived in 3rd. She stopped to watch Jinnar and Maxim speed down. The road both intend on beating the other. Serenity carefully maneuvered her kart out of the way just in time to see Remus beat Maxim by a tiny margin. Serenity chuckled awkwardly as she stepped out of her kart to them both.

"You did good." She said to both. Maxim looked disappointed in grumbled.

"We still got 3 more courses to go so don't beat yourselves up over it, okay?" Serenity said before getting back in her kart and following Archie as he led the others out of the highway and to the next track.

* * *

Archie led them through another dark tunnel. The tunnel slowly lit up with neon lights and the sounds of classic video games.

"Welcome to Pinball. Yes you'll be going through that tunnel, and descend down the course, watch out for the balls!" Archie said as the racers took place. The familiar lights appeared where Archie sat

"And GO!" He shouted

Everyone took off and entered the neon tunnel which made a sound like a slot machine. Exiting the tunnel everyone raced down a small track that lead down to the playing field. Serenity managed to come in first, quickly surpassed by Remus then Maxim and then Hikkori who smiled madly as he passed the three, not noticing the ball that had dropped behind him, knocking him to the side.

Jinnar stayed behind purposely, waiting for the three in front of him to fight for first. He spotted an opening when Serenity and Remus bumped into each other. Jinnar stepped on the gas and passed both. He smiled as he entered the main field where he swerve and turn to avoid the severe boulder sized pinballs and bumpers. He barely noticed Maxim passing him as he drove passed the bumpers.

Hikkori kept hitting the bumpers, letting out small curses as they spun and struck him. He had barely managed to catch up to Serenity as he crossed the start to start the final lap. He speed up going neck to neck with Serenity. As they exited the neon tunnel a pinball rolled down the track, in front of Hikkori forcing him to slow took the chance to sped past Hikkori.

Meanwhile down in the playfield Jinnar, Maxim and Remus drove erratic to avoid the bumpers and each drifted to reach the end. Each boosted towards the end,Maxim past first followed by Jinnar then Remus. Twenty seconds later Serenity came in with Hikkori not too long afterwards.

"FINISH" Archie said, showing the result of the Race. Hikkori grumbled but recovered soon after, he wasn't going to let this get to him. He decided to keep going. Archie smirked and led them to the next course.

* * *

The course made everyone feel as if they were shrunken. The area looked like a child's toy box, with toys, wind up soldiers and jack and the boxes everywhere. The red road was the only indication of a road.

"Toy box. A fairly simple course. Although I did kind of lie. You see… while you shouldn't have any major issues like the last two courses. You will get shot at by the toy soldiers. This course goes through a castle, a fortress and a space observatory. In each of them you'll get shot at. So try your best not to get shot, Those bullets will launch you out of the stratosphere oh and uh… feel free to run over any foot aren't real." Archie explained flying up to a stack of blocks.

"GO!" he yelled and everyone took off. The road was mostly straight, each kart passing each other slightly until Serenity noticed gates open, leading them into the first castle. The walls were white brick. She steeled herself when she interior was nice. Princess dolls and heroic action figures walked around. A princess doll pointed at Serenity then at the others. Then from the castle wall a toy soldier with a rifle popped up. He loaded his rifle and aimed at Serenity and barely missed the shot. Her eyes widened as she saw the shot created a small explosion, like a miniature version of the bomb cars. She hurried through the castle as the soldiers shot at her and her Selected. A quick glance back told Serenity that each Selected was trying to be a man by not leading the bullets to other Selected. Serenity couldn't care less about her Selected being better men right now her only concerned was escaping the crazed castle. At last she reached the end and the soldier stopped firing, the road changed colors to black as the next part, came into view. The Fortress, with black masonry and a dark glow.

Jinnar was glad he managed to get out of the castle rather unscathed. Hikkori and Maxim both got caught up in a small explosion. The guards seemed to forget about Jinnar halfway hoped it would remain the same for the Fortress, he was trailing behind Serenity and Remus was a fair distance behind him. From his point of view Serenity had already entered the fortress and was quickly weaving around the explosions that followed her. Jinnar braced himself as he entered the fortress. He immediately heard a roar and saw several guards men run around the area. Jinnar accidently hit someone of them, he apologized. They then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Jinnar felt a few bullets hit his kart but wondered why there were no explosions. Then he saw the flaming arrows and barrels full of what he assumed was gunpowder. The arrows were pointed at him. He'd have to be crafty and avoid the barrels. Everything was going well until Hikkori caught up to him. The guards began shooting at both. Jinnar tried to keep his distance but Hikkori's erratic driving caused Jinnar to get caught up in 2 explosions, costing him his place. The only person behind him now Remus. Still Jinnar knew he could reclaim his place as he exited the fortress and into the Observatory.

Hikkori was excited as he managed to capture second place. Serenity was still in front of him. He didn't mind but he wouldn't let her stay in first for very long. Instead of taking first place from her he followed her to see what dangers the Observatory held. He had a bit of trouble with the castle and fortress but he wanted to see if he could prepare for the dangers. Instead of facing them head on. He was surprised to see Serenity kart bounce off the track and slowly descend, steering away from what looked like shooting stars.. Hikkori looked surprised but figured it would be easier for him, having a smaller vehicle. He went ahead and was shot up when he hit the observatory's floor. He looked around him as he slowly descended and leaned sideways to avoid shooting stars. Hikkori tried to angle his landings, testing to see what worked. He had hardly realized he gained first place only realizing when he hit the ground for the last time. Hearing Archie call out the final lap. Hikkori took a quick look behind him to see Serenity chase after him.

Remus tried to remain calm as he drove past the guards shooting at him while maneuvering around the explosions and avoiding the small craters the explosions created. Remus felt himself panic as his eyes darted around from the arrows. Something primal inside of him rocked him to his very core. Fear, he didn't know where it came from but he knew that it spurred him further. He felt like a wolf running away from hunters. The explosions behind him sounds more like shaking cart sounded more like the machines hunters had with them. Remus had hardly realized he had passed Maxim and was halfway through the fortress.

Maxim looked surprised as Remus passed him with a look of fear on his face. Maxim sped up, trying to keep his place. He tried to overtake Remus, blocking him off but the werewolf quick swerved and dodged the hail of bullets and flaming arrows. Maxim and Remus drove right into barrels of gunpowder, spreading it everywhere. They wiped gunpowder out of their eyes as they managed to escape the fortress. Both looked back at the fortress. The last section was entire on fire, no doubt thanks to their crash. They both almost stopped when they saw Jinnar escape the inferno, his kart burnt. Jinnar himself was unharmed, looking a little shaken.

Serenity grinned as she bumped karts with Hikkori as headed towards the finish line. They bounced and Serenity forced all her weight to bump Hikkori a little further as he kart dropped and past the finish line.

"Finish!" Archie yelled as Hikkori drove a few seconds after,followed by Remus, Maxim and finally Jinnar.

"Your kart is a little banged up, Jinnar. Give me a sec." Archie said as he chanted something in latin and slapped the hood of JInnar's kart, causing the dent and burnt metal to reshape.

"That's just a quick fix. Alright onto the next race." He said, leading them to the final course.

* * *

They started at the edge of a castle. A crumbling tower behind them. Large cannonballs were being shot out an airship and hitting the wall below the racers shaking them.

"Pretty simple track. One last minute change. Some of your karts are a little more banged up than I anticipated. Serenity's got a broken light, Remus' box is busted, Hikkori's chopper looks like it's going to fall apart and Jinnar's… well the point is that this is gonna be one lap. Make it count." Archie then flew above them, holding his flag.

"1… 2… 3… GO!" He yelled and everyone immediately took off.

Serenity, tried to stay still as she dodged cannonballs, they impact of cannonball to the stone wall rattled her, stopping and slowing her movements.

Hikkori dodged the cannonballs by skidding downward, barely ducking the cannonballs. They were smaller than he imagined.

Remus drove carefully. It was true, his kart was a hair away from breaking. He avoid the other drivers and only turned when a cannonball flew towards him.

Jinnar felt beat from the last course. He had been caught in explosions and a burning fortress he just wanted to get the course over with. Noticing that the cannonball flew directly at his head, Jinnar ducked his head only peeking out to see where he was.

Maxim was somehow able to outmaneuver the cannonball and land safely on the platform below them that lead to the next section.

After the cannonballs everyone turned to a ramp that lead onto the airship. As soon as they boarded a wrench flew and hit Remus' head. He turned to see a mechanic throw a hammer at him, hitting the head of the wolf on his kart.

"Invaders!, Intruders!" The mechanic shout, causing a few more to appear from window and other's to come up from the manholes on the floor of the airship.

"Get them!" The mechanics shouted as they threw various objects at the racers.

Serenity twisted and turned, avoiding the flying wrenches and screwdrivers. Hikkori behind her ducking and passing her. Remus growled at the mechanic who seemed to pelt him with various tools. He had finally managed to pull ahead, still in fifth. The other drivers had already entered the ship and Remus picked up speed, not letting himself be beat.

The first room of the ship was filled with boxes, which when hit turned out to be empty; much to the relief of Jinnar. He plowed through them trying to catch up to Hikkori who had managed to snag first. Jinnar thought he had caught the league when he almost drove into a flamethrower. The second room had a fem flamethrowers spurting out fire every now and again.

"What the hell kind of race track does Quinn go to!" Maxim shouted as he tried his best to dodge the flamethrowers. He thanked his stars there were only two going off at a time.

Serenity wondered why she was driving down a long hallway upwards until she saw the large cannon she dread. She stopped for a moment, wondering if it really was safe. It wasn't until HIkkori entered the oversized cannon that she managed to go in, beating Jinnar by a few seconds..

She screamed as she flew through the air. If she wasn't wearing a seatbelt she mostly certain would have flown off of her kart to certain doom. She fet dizzy as she drove down the spider design of the crumbling tower. Finally reaching the broken bridge of the castle. Serenity groaned as she avoided them. She heard Archie yell finish and looked ahead. HIkkori grabbed first place, which means she would get second. Jinnar followed a few second after followed by Maxim then Remus.

* * *

"Right I think that was enough fun." Archie said as he lead them out and back to the garage.

"Just park the over those blue spaces and Zach will see you out." Archie said as he pulled out a large tool box and a roll of duct tape.

"I saw the races, you guys were awesome." Zach said, watching the tired racers come out. Even looked thoroughly beat.

"Archie says that we don't really do winners and losers here, but I have an arbitrary point system I made! So this is count your overall points. The orange kitsune came in first, followed by Princess Serenity then the werewolf, the elf and finally the human." Maxim bit the inside of his cheek, learning he had come in last.

Outside, the sun was setting and Pearce was playing cards with the driver. He looked up to the Serenity and stood up.

"We'll finish this later, Dave." Pearce said as he packed up the cards. He smiled at Serenity and the others.

"Had fun?" He asked. Serenity nodded.

"Yeah… but just uh take us home." Serenity said, watching her Selected enter the car. She stopped Maxim before he entered. She smiled at him, he looked confused and a bit defeated.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, consider this a prize."She said, leaning up to kiss his cheek. Then hurrying to enter the car, leaving Maxim with a small smile on his face.

* * *

A/N:...I had to throw a kiss at some point. Right? I had fun writing this but also hated writing it. Writing it between my laptop, phone and a tablet was a pain! Expect the next one... when inspiration hits.


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